Intel Corpo.
INTC 0.70%
South Korea’s SK Hinix is close to a deal to sell a memory-chip unit Inc.
000660 1.64%
For about billion 10 billion, the move will stabilize the semiconductor giant away from an area of historical significance that has become more challenging.
Companies are discussing deals that could be announced as soon as possible, according to people familiar with the matter, assuming the last-minute talks are no different. S.K. The characteristics of the transaction, including what Hinix would buy, could not be learned.
The Intel unit makes NAND flash memory products primarily used in devices such as hard drives, thumb drives and cameras. U.S. The chip maker has been weighing exiting the business for some time, driven by falling prices for flash memory.
Intel is known for creating a central processing unit at the heart of personal computers, while the company has deep roots in the memory business. It began as a memory manufacturer in the late 1960’s before the company changed course before the fierce competition from Japan’s Bergening electronics industry in the 1980s.
Despite recovering late last year, the market for memory chips declined in 2018, amid a surge in appliance support. Analysts expect the market for NAND devices to remain strong in the coming years amid a surge in data storage.
However, Bob Swann, chief executive of Intel, said in April that the company had to offer more lucrative returns from the NND business and that it could enter into a partnership to make that happen.
While there were emerging markets for flash memory, including huge data centers, George Davis, chief financial officer of the California-based company, said in March. “We are not able to make a profit out of it to get the kind of compensation we want to see,” he said.
Micron technology while Intel has already reduced its involvement in memory manufacturing in January Inc.
Mu 2.13%
Intel bought a stake in the joint venture worth about 1.5 billion. That adventure focused on an advanced memory technology called 3D XPoint.
Intel, with a market value of about 230 billion, is under increasing pressure from smaller competitors to gain market share. Its share is down about 10% this year compared to an increase of about 30% in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. Shares fell more than 15% when Intel indicated in July that second-half results would be weaker than expected and further delayed the rollout of its superfast seven-nanometer chip technology, which includes future pay generations of central processing units.
Intel is struggling to move ahead in mass production of its most advanced chips, according to Intelligence Research, a rival in personal computer CPUs to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. No market share rose to 17% in the previous quarter, according to Mercury Research. Intel has almost the rest of the market share.
Intel is set to report its third-quarter earnings on Thursday afternoon.
The memory chips market has been shaken by US efforts to curb the growth of China’s tech industry and limit exports to Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies, the country’s leading telecom equipment maker. Kyoksia Holdings Corp., a Japanese memory-chip maker, owned a consortium led by private equity firm Ben Capital, which delayed one of the most anticipated public offerings last year due to the situation.
The tech war between the US and China has knocked out Ticket OK and Huawei and shocked American companies manufacturing and selling in China. WSJ explains how Beijing will pour money into high-tech chips as it seeks to become self-sufficient. Video / Picture: George Downs / Wall Street Journal
Intel’s advanced flash memory, known as 3D NAND because it has multiple layers of memory cells stacked on top of each other, is built in Dalian, a port city on the Liaodong Peninsula west of the Korean Peninsula.
The factory is Intel’s only major chip-manufacturing site in China and if it is involved in sales it is a sign of a serious decline in the company’s presence there.
The U.S. recently asked China’s most advanced chip maker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International SMCYI, to require companies to obtain licenses before exporting some of the technology. 2.36%
L Corp.
To support the growing number of everyday items connected to the Internet, industry players have moved to the semiconductor sector to get their product letters in bulk.
Analog devices Inc.
Maxim agreed to pay more than 20 billion for integrated products in July Inc.,
And Nvidia Corpo.
In September, the British chip designer, backed by the Softbank Group, agreed to pay 40 40 billion for Arm Holdings. Corpo.
AMD is in talks to buy rival chip maker Zilinks Inc.,
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. The two sides are discussing a deal that could come together this week or so, believing the talks will not break down, people are aware of the matter.
Some companies are looking to be slim and focus. Broadcom Inc.
Last year it explored sales of its radio-frequency, or RF, unit, part of its wireless-chip business that makes filters used in cellphones to clear signals. The latter decided to sell it.
-Asa Fitch contributed to this article.
Write to Cara Lombardo at [email protected] and Dana Similuka at [email protected]
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