Brazil's antitrust watchdog has approved SK hynix Inc.'s deal to acquire Intel Corp.'s NAND business, industry insiders said Friday.

Brazil's CADE cleared the deal unconditionally, saying that SK hynix's takeover of Intel's NAND unit does not raise competition concerns.

Last October, SK hynix, South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker, signed a deal to buy Intel's non-volatile business for US$9 billion, which includes the U.S. firm's solid state drive business and a NAND flash chip plant in Dalian, China. Following the deal, the South Korean firm had to obtain approval from antitrust regulators in major countries.

Brazil is the fifth nation to approve SK hynix's deal following the United States, South Korea, Europe and Taiwan.

Antitrust reviews from three countries -- China, Britain and Singapore -- are currently in progress. The company plans to obtain approval from those countries by the end of this year.

SK hynix was the world's fourth-largest NAND flash supplier with a market share of 12.3 percent in the first quarter of 2021, while Intel was the No. 6 producer with 7.5 percent, according to industry tracker TrendForce.

The acquisition of Intel's NAND business is projected to make SK hynix the world's second-largest NAND flash vendor behind its bigger home rival Samsung Electronics Co.

By: DocMemory
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