Intel Corp is preparing to sell its NAND memory chip business to SK Hynix Inc for almost US$10 billion in a deal that would propel the South Korean chipmaker to second in the global rankings, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The deal would allow SK Hynix to overtake Japan's Kioxia as the No.2 player in the NAND memory market, and narrow the gap with market leader Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as the shift to work-from-home boosts demand for chips used in tablets and servers.Intel would sell its solid-state drive business in the United States and its factory in Dalian, China, which produces advanced flash memory, referred to as 3D NAND, the sources told Reuters on Monday.
Hynix, which counts Apple and Huawei as customers, is a distant fourth in the NAND memory chip market, although it ranks second after Samsung Electronics in DRAM memory sales.