CFIUS Clearance: SK hynix and NAND Business of Intel 
     USA   June 10 2021  
   Status: Clearance
   Acquirer: SK hynix Inc. (South Korea)
   Acquired:  NAND business of Intel Corporation (US)
   Value:  US$9 billion
   Industry:  Semiconductors
   On October 19, 2020,  Intel Corporation entered into a purchase agreement with  SK hynix Inc.   pursuant to which SK hynix will acquire “Intel’s NAND memory   fabrication facility in Dalian, China and certain related equipment and   tangible assets (collectively, the ‘Fab Assets’), (ii) Intel’s NAND   solid-state drive business (the ‘NAND SSD Business’), and (iii) Intel’s   NAND memory technology and manufacturing business (the ‘NAND   Business’).” ( Intel Corporation Form 8-K, Oct. 20, 2020, SEC Filing.)   The transaction is to be consummated over two closings, with the first   closing involving the acquisition of the “Fab Assets and the NAND SSD   Business for total consideration of $7 billion in cash,” that will “not   occur prior to November 1, 2021.” (Id.)  The second closing will  involve the acquisition of NAND business “for  additional consideration  of $2 billion,” and “is expected to occur no  earlier than March 15,  2025.” (Id.)  “The consummation of the First Closing and the  Second Closing is  subject to customary conditions, including, without  limitation . . .  clearance of the transaction by the Committee on  Foreign Investment in  the United States . . . .” (Id.)  On March  12, 2021, SK hynix announced that it “received clearance from  the  Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for  its  proposed acquisition of Intel’s NAND memory and storage business.”
    On a related note, in early 2019, CFIUS also cleared a SK hynix   investment involving Cypress Semiconductor Corporation’s NAND business,   see our blog post on that transaction  here.
    lexology.com |