Status:  Clearance

Acquirer:  SK hynix system Inc. (South Korea)

Acquired:  NAND business of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (US)

Value:  US$6 million

Industry:   Semiconductors

On October 23, 2018, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, and U.S. semiconductor design and manufacturing company, entered into a joint venture agreement with SK hynix system ic Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SK hynix Inc., a South Korean publicly traded (KRX: 000660) semiconductor design and manufacturing company, whereby Cypress Semiconductor Corporation would contribute to its NAND memory business.  (See Cypress Semiconductor Corporation Form 8-K, Oct. 25, 2018, SEC Filing.) The “[l]aunch of the joint venture is subject to certain conditions, including receipt of antitrust and other regulatory approvals (including review and clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) . . .” (Id.; see Joint Venture Agreement, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation Form 10-K, EX-2.3, Feb. 27, 2019, SEC Filing.)  “On April 1, 2019, [Cypress Semiconductor] closed the transfer of its NAND business to a newly-formed joint venture between the [Cypress Semiconductor] and SK hynix system ic Inc. (“SKHS”). The joint venture entity is called SkyHigh Memory Limited (“SkyHigh”) and its headquarters are in Hong Kong, China. SkyHigh is 60-percent-owned by SKHS and 40-percent-owned by Cypress.”  (Cypress Semiconductor Corporation Form 10-Q, Nov. 1, 2019, SEC Filing.)

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