South Korean chipmaker SK hynix Inc. said Thursday it has acquired the firmware arm of Belarus-based Softeq Development FLLC., a move viewed as a bid to bolster its NAND flash solution business.

"The takeover will allow (SK hynix) to secure talented firmware experts, and gain competitiveness in the NAND flash sector," the company said in a press release. It did not reveal the value of the deal.

Firmware refers to a computer program embedded in hardware devices such as NAND flash controllers, which contributes to the product's speed and stability.

The takeover came less than a week after SK hynix said it plans to acquire the expansion card division of U.S. firm Violin Memory Inc., a move also aimed at better competency in the NAND flash business.

"SK hynix expanded its global research and development network to cover the U.S., Italy, Taiwan, and Belarus," the company said, adding it plans to continue the expansion to cover Russia and Eastern Europe.

In 2012, SK hynix acquired Italy-based Ideaflash S.r.l, and Link_A_Media Devices Corp. to strengthen its NAND flash sector, which was renamed as SK Hynix Italy S.r.l and SK hynix Memory Solutions., respectively.

The efforts continued in 2013 when the chipmaker established a research and development center, SK hynix Flash Solutions Taiwan Ltd., by purchasing the eMMC device controller division of Taiwan-based Innostor Technology.

In the first quarter of 2014, the company's NAND flash memory chip business suffered, due mainly to the heightened competition in the global market that brought down prices. The quarterly sales in the sector fell 8 percent from the October-December period of 2013.

By: DocMemory
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