Fire sale
Intel spun-off its NOR flash memory operations into a joint-venture with ST Microelectronics in early 2008 called Numonyx. VCs Francisco Partners chipped in (excuse the pun) $150 million and got 6.3 percent of the company in return, valuing Numonyx at $2.38 billion.
US semiconductor company Micron has announced it's buying Numonyx for $1.27 in stock, making this look like a pretty good deal for Micron, which is best known for its Crucial and Lexar brands.
The deal will create a memory giant to take on Samsung, with DRAM and both NAND and NOR flash products in its portfolio. It looks like a major target market is the multi-chip offering for embedded markets like mobile phones, where several types of semiconductor are integrated in one chip to save space and energy.
"Acquiring Numonyx brings together two memory leaders and positions Micron to offer the most comprehensive, cost-competitive solutions in the industry to a broad range of customers and end-markets," said Steve Appleton, chairman and CEO of Micron.
"We believe the opportunity for Numonyx to join with Micron will deliver a clear advantage for our customers and our employees," said Brian Harrison, president and CEO of Numonyx. "This announcement is a strong testimony to the value of Numonyx technologies, products and people. The result will be a strong company that can best serve our target market segments and customers by delivering enhanced memory solutions, strength and scale. It is good for Numonyx and good for Micron."
We guess the three owners of Numonyx must agree, or they wouldn't have sold, but they can't feel too happy about their investment having lost half of its value on two years, however much economic turmoil there's been in that time.
