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Tag: Micron

  • New Lockdowns in China Are Impacting Chipmakers

    New Lockdowns in China Are Impacting Chipmakers

    Amid the Omicron COVID surge, new lockdowns in China are negatively impacting the semiconductor industry.

    According to The Mercury News, the city of Xi’an is under some of the tightest restrictions since the original Wuhan lockdowns. Both Samsung and Micron are warning they will have to adjust operations as a result.

    “New or more stringent restrictions impacting our operations in Xi’an may be increasingly difficult to mitigate,” Micron said.

    The computer industry was especially hard-hit in the early days of the pandemic, and has struggled to catch up with demand ever since. Just as many companies were hoping for a return to normal, the Omicron variant is once again threatening to upend the progress that has been made.

    The new lockdowns in China will likely only reinforce calls for semiconductor companies to diversify their manufacturing and supply chains so they’re not overly dependent on a single country.

  • SanDisk Micron Deal Reportedly A Possibility

    SanDisk is said to be gearing up for sale, which is news that appears to be pleasing to investors.

    A report from Bloomberg Business came out on Tuesday afternoon indicating the company hired a bank to explore a potential sale with interest from both Micron Technology and Western Digital. The report cites “people with knowledge of the matter.”

    Naturally, none of the aforementioned companies would comment on what can only be considered rumor at this point.

    The report’s sources said no decision has been made, and noted that that the talks may not result in a transaction.

    Barron’s shares some insights from several analysts. For one, it quotes Needham & Co.’s Richard Kugele on several reasons both for and against a SanDisk sale:

    From a high-level, we see at least three main arguments in favor of a WDC/SNDK deal, and three against. Arguments in favor of a SanDisk deal by WDC include: 1) Ally on the Board of SanDisk; 2) access to NAND supply, strong SSD brand presence; 3) large cash raise (assuming approval) could be used for M&A. Arguments against a SanDisk deal by WDC include:1) MOFCOM hasn’t approve the HGST integration yet, nor have regulators signed off on Unis/Tsinghua’s 15% investment in WDC (i.e. the cash isn’t in the bank yet); 2) Historical relationship with Intel on enterprise SSD controllers/MU on NAND (plus INTC’s investment in Tsinghua) complicate a SNDK tie-up; 3) Is NAND even the future of non-volatile memory, and will SNDK lead that charge or will significant investment be needed? Who owns what with the Toshiba relationship (would Toshiba sign off)? What does next year look like for SanDisk I’d Samsung doesn’t renew NAND license?

    Sandisk shares skyrocketed on Tuesday night, and continued to rise on Wednesday.

  • Apple Supplier Elpida Bought By Micron Technology

    Micron Technology has announced that they have entered into a sponsor agreement to acquire Elpida Memory, Inc. for ¥60 billion ($750 million). Under the agreement Micron assumes all of Elpida’s assets, including its 65% stake in another chip manufacturer, Rexchip. Between the Elpida acquisition and a separate purchase of Powerchip’s 24% stake in Rexchip, Micron gains an 89% stake in Rexchip.

    Of course, Micron also inherits Elpida’s financial troubles. Elpida has struggled badly in recent months, and in February the company filed for bankruptcy protection on the $1.89 billion it had coming due in April. According to Micron’s press release, this acquisition will “enable stable payment of creditor claims and help to streamline approval of the reorganization plan by the creditors and the Tokyo District Court.”

    Elpida is a one of the world’s leading manufacturers of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and is a major supplier of DRAM chips to Apple. Elpida’s chips go in some of Apple’s most popular products, including the new iPad and the iPhone 4S.

  • BREAKING — Micron CEO Dies In Plane Crash

    BREAKING — Micron CEO Dies In Plane Crash

    Micron’s CEO Steve Appleton died this morning in a private plane crash in Boise, Idaho this morning. He was 51-years-old.

    Business Insider is reporting that Appleton was flying an “experimental fixed wing single engine Lancair that crashed shortly before 9 a.m.”

    Micron’s stock is halted in lieu of the news.

    Micron issued a press release:

    We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Appleton, Micron (Nasdaq:MU) Chairman and CEO, passed away this morning in a small plane accident in Boise. He was 51.

    Our hearts go out to his wife, Dalynn, his children and his family during this tragic time.
    Steve’s passion and energy left an indelible mark on Micron, the Idaho community and the technology industry at large.

    The company expects to provide additional information later today.

    We’ll have more once the company makes a proper statement.