If a deal did go through, it would be the largest Chinese takeover of any foreign company China’s largest state-owned computer chip design firm, Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd. has offered $23 billion to buy Micron Technology, one of the largest U.S. memory makers, according to The Wall Street Journal. If Micron accepts, the deal would be the biggest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company on record. Micron, however, denied the reports. “While Micron does not comment on rumors or speculation, we can confirm that we have not received an offer,” said Dan Francisco, Micron’s media relations director. Citing people “familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal stated that Tsinghua Unigroup has offered $21 a share for Micron, which is a 19.3% premium over its closing price yesterday. According to industry analysts, rumors of a potential takeover have been around for about a month now. “This is the first credible news I’ve heard,” said Gregory Wong, an analyst with research firm Forward Insights. “It’s been well known that China is trying to get into the memory industry and with none of the major memory players willing to license or transfer technology, it would’ve taken them years to develop the technology indigenously.” By acquiring Micron, Tsinghua Unigroup would immediately become a major player and acquire leading-edge technology and intellectual property for DRAM and NAND flash at the same time, Wong said. Wong doesn’t believe a buyout would affect the competitive dynamics of DRAM and NAND markets in the short term. “Tsinghua Unigroup has to realize that they aren’t just paying $23 billion. They’ll have to invest in the technology and fab capacity to ensure the gap with Samsung doesn’t widen,” Wong said. Based in Boise, Idaho, Micron is the second largest producer of DRAM, with about 25% to 30% of the market share. Samsung leads the market in DRAM production. South Korea-based Samsung is the largest producer of NAND memory, followed by Toshiba and SanDisk. Micron and SK Hynix are in a virtual tie for fourth place. Since 2008, Micron has been partnered with Intel in developing flash memory products. A buyout of Micron could potentially affect that relationship. If any deal were to develop between the Chinese chip maker and Micron, one challenge would be attaining U.S. government approval for the transfer of “sensitive technology” to China, according to Wong. Additionally, if Tsinghua were to take over Micron, it would have to relinquish the company’s holdings in chip makers Rexchip and Inotera, according to Taiwan regulations, Wong said. Related content news Atlassian Rovo brings AI smarts to enterprise search With Rovo, the company looks to expand existing search capabilities in its products, tapping into documents held in third-party apps and using generative AI to provide a natural language interface. By Matthew Finnegan May 01, 2024 5 mins Atlassian Chatbots Generative AI news Mosyle and Fleet bring new device management options to Apple enterprise Apple's growing enterprise market share is generating tons of opportunity for the company's partners in the device management market. Their approaches reflect the diversity of use. By Jonny Evans May 01, 2024 4 mins Apple Mobile Device Management Mobile Security tip 13 tricks for more efficient Android messaging Save time and communicate more effectively with these easy-to-miss advanced options for Google's Android Messages app. By JR Raphael May 01, 2024 18 mins Smartphones Google Mobile Apps feature LLM deployment flaws that catch IT by surprise From unfettered control over enterprise systems to glitches that go unnoticed, LLM deployments can go wrong in subtle but serious ways. By Evan Schuman May 01, 2024 10 mins Generative AI IT Operations Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe