Toshiba Signs Definitive Agreement with SanDisk Concerning Purchase of Production Equipment for NAND Flash Memory
TOKYO- Toshiba Corporation announced that it has today signed a definitive agreement with SanDisk Corporation of the U.S., under which Toshiba will acquire part of the 300mm wafer lines currently owned and operated by Flash Partners, Ltd. and Flash Alliance, Ltd., production joint ventures (JVs) between Toshiba and SanDisk. The agreement was reached following a non-binding memorandum of understanding on reallocation of wafer capacity and equipment ownership at the two JVs that Toshiba and SanDisk signed and announced on October 20, 2008.
- Reasons for equipment acquisition
The NAND flash memory market is expected to see mid- to long-term growth on demand for a diverse range digital consumer applications, mobile phones, and solid state drives (SSD) for notebook PCs and servers. Acquisition of part of the production equipment in use at the joint ventures will allow Toshiba to quickly and flexibly meet market demand, and to expand its manufacturing capabilities at a lower cost and with a shorter ramp-up time than required for procurement of new equipment. - Outline of acquisition
Under the definitive agreement, Toshiba will acquire part of the manufacturing equipment currently owned or leased by the joint ventures and used in Fab3 and Fab4 for a total sum of about 160 billion yen. Since 50% of the acquired capacity is equipment already owned or leased by Toshiba Corporation through the JVs, Toshiba's practical increase of capacity will cover half of the amount, i.e. some 80 billion yen. - Schedule for equipment acquisition
Toshiba plans to acquire the equipment in a series of purchases, and expects to complete the entire transaction by the end of March 2009. - Benefits and Future Outlook
The transaction allows Toshiba to increase its production capacity on 300mm wafer lines in Fab3 and Fab 4. By securing already operating production equipment and lines, the company is expanding production capacity under more reasonable terms and conditions than required to install new facilities with new equipment.
The remaining equipment at the JVs remains jointly and equally owned by Toshiba and SanDisk, and its capacity will be equally divided between the two companies.
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