Inotera Memories Inc’s (華亞科技) fast migration to advanced 20-nanometer (nm) DRAM technology is the driving force behind Micron Technology Inc’s plan to continue its buyout of the memorychip maker, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said.
The Taipei-based researcher said the NT$130 billion (US$4.01 billion) acquisition would create a win-win situation for Micron and Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), which agreed to sell a 24 percent stake in Inotera to the US memorychip maker.
The deal is crucial for Nanya, as the share sale would give it access to next-generation technologies from Micron, extending their partnership on 20nm technology, TrendForce said in a report released on Monday after Inotera told a media briefing that Micron is to acquire the remaining 67 percent stake from Nanya and other members of Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團).
Micron is the world’s second-largest DRAM supplier, with an 18.5 percent global market share by revenue last quarter, behind South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co’s 46.4 percent and SK Hynix Inc’s 27.1 percent, according to TrendForce data.
For Micron, “Inotera has replaced Micron Memory Japan (MMJ) as the most important [20nm chip] manufacturing site for the company,” TrendForce said.
MMJ was previously named Elpida Memory Inc before being acquired by Micron in 2013.
“Inotera was the first company to start the migration to 20nm technology,” among members of the Micron camp, including MMJ, Micron Memory Taiwan, Inotera and Micron’s US plants, TrendForce said.
In September, Inotera is to start shipping 20nm chips to customers, the researcher said.
INOTERA ‘ON TRACK’
Taoyuan-based Inotera earlier this year said that it is on track to migrate all of its capacities to 20nm chips by the end of this quarter.
As Micron’s output growth next year is to come primarily from the migration to 20nm chips, “Inotera will play an irreplaceable role in the Micron camp,” TrendForce said.
Inotera contributes 100,000 12-inch wafers a month to Micron, making up about 30 percent of the US memorychip maker’s total monthly DRAM capacities of 315,000 12-inch wafers, the researcher said.
Micron’s decision on Wednesday last week to postpone the acquisition sent Inotera shares down 10 percent yesterday to end at NT$23.85 in Taipei trading, after plunging 9.86 percent on Monday, erasing more than NT$36.57 billion in market cap in just two days.
Inotera was yesterday fined NT$300,000 by Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp for the belated disclosure of Micron’s delayed closing of the acquisition deal.
“Inotera has violated rules of disclosing important corporate information,” the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement.
“The violation has caused a significant impact on its stock price,” it added.
Inotera should have applied to suspend trading of its shares on Tuesday last week, one day before Micron made the announcement, as related rules stipulate, the statement said.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,
RSS