Intel sells its NAND flash memory business to SK Hynix for $9 billion

Tonight South Korean memory chip manufacturer SK Hynix announced a $9 billion deal with Intel. It’s acquiring Intel’s “NAND memory and storage business, which includes the NAND SSD business, the NAND component and wafer business, and the Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China.” If you’re wondering what this means for Intel’s speedy Optane SSDs, it will continue to hold onto that business, however as Tom’s Hardware points out, the technology is jointly developed by Intel and Micron, and manufactured entirely by Micron.

The deal is pending government approval, and both parties expect it to close by late next year. It also follows Apple acquiring Intel’s smartphone modem business last year. In a statement, Intel CEO Bob Swan said “For Intel, this transaction will allow us to further prioritize our investments in differentiated technology.”