An employee working at a semiconductor fab (factory) (Image courtesy of SK hynix)
SEOUL, March 29 (Korea Bizwire) — SK hynix announced Friday that it has completed its acquisition of Intel’s NAND memory business, solidifying its strategic push into the enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) market as demand for AI-driven data storage continues to soar.
According to a regulatory filing with South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service, the transaction was officially concluded following the final payment and transfer of business operations.
This marks the end of a multi-year acquisition process that began in October 2020, when SK hynix signed a deal to purchase Intel’s NAND unit for a total of $8.84 billion—still the largest merger and acquisition in South Korean history.
The deal was carried out in two stages: an initial $6.61 billion payment at the end of 2021, followed by a second and final tranche of $2.24 billion. With this closure, SK hynix now holds full legal ownership of Intel’s NAND intellectual property, R&D capabilities, and production staff.
The first stage of the deal had already transferred Intel’s SSD business and its Dalian fabrication plant in China to SK hynix. The SSD unit was subsequently rebranded and launched under Solidigm, a U.S.-based SK hynix subsidiary, in December 2021.
Now with full control over Intel’s core NAND assets, SK hynix is preparing a detailed operational strategy to accelerate its presence in the enterprise SSD market—particularly targeting next-generation AI data center solutions.
CEO Kwak Noh-jung, speaking at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on March 27, underscored the strategic importance of the Dalian facility, calling it a key global production base.
This undated file photo shows SK hynix’s booth during the SEDEX 2024, the country’s leading semiconductors technology exhibition, held at COEX in southern Seoul from Oct. 23-25, 2024. (Yonhap)
“Following the final closing, we will refine our operational roadmap and adjust our strategies to maximize the potential of the newly acquired assets,” he said, adding that the company aims to continue operating the Chinese plant in compliance with U.S. regulations while prioritizing customer needs.
With AI applications fueling demand for high-capacity, high-bandwidth storage, SK hynix plans to take a proactive stance in the enterprise SSD segment. The company projects that the enterprise SSD market will grow 3.5 times in 2025 compared to 2024, driven by the expansion of AI data infrastructure globally.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
