Recently, the list of antitrust authorities that needed to consider a deal between Intel and SK hynix included regulators from three countries. The list is now a shorter position as the UK has negotiated an unconditional agreement to place SK hynix in Intel’s 3D NAND memory facilities and business in Dalian, China.
Image source: Business Korea
Business Korea reported on progress in negotiating the agreement. Last Monday, the UK Competition and Markets Authority announced that there are no additional requirements for UK competition authorities to complete the deal. Followed by the relevant departments of Singapore and China, the United States, the European Union, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil and the United Kingdom have already issued the verdict. The two parties hope to complete the deal by the end of this year.
The terms of the deal indicate that Intel will continue to produce solid-state memory at a company in China until March 2025, and only then will it receive the final $2 billion from SK hynix out of the $9 billion stipulated in the contract. Then, not only the entire core production base of Intel, but also the associated intellectual property rights will return to the Korean owners. It cannot be excluded that the location of the Intel factory in Dalian will draw special attention to the work of the Chinese anti-monopoly authorities.
