After 15 Years, Apple Prepares to Break Up With Intel
After using Intel chips for 15 years, Apple is all set to break up with the chip-maker. The Mac desktops Apple is going to announce at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that kicks off on June 22, will not be using Intel chips anymore.8 時間前
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記憶體的生意，就是大好大壞。
80年代Intel 公司痛定思痛，決定退出記憶體的生意。
但Intel 還有處理器大生意。
如今， Toshiba 公司則是退出半導體市場。
3D flash memory[edit]
In March 2015, Toshiba announced the development of the first 48-layer, three-dimensional flash memory. The new flash memory is based on a vertical stacking technology that Toshiba calls BiCS (Bit Cost Scaling), stores two bits of data per transistor and can store 128Gbits (16GB) per chip.[105] Toshiba's memory division was spun off as Toshiba Memory Corporation.
Kioxia is a combination of the Japanese word kioku meaning memory and the Greek word axia meaning value.[6]
On August 30, 2019, Toshiba Memory Holdings Corporation, not yet renamed to Kioxia, announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Lite-On's SSD business for US$165 million. The transaction is expected to close by the first half of 2020.[11][12]
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TOKYO -- Japanese technology group Toshiba will gradually unwind its stake in memory chip unit Kioxia Holdings, Nikkei learned Friday, in a bid to distance group earnings from the volatile semiconductor industry.
Kioxia, the spinoff formerly named Toshiba Memory, plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by October. Toshiba will sell its 40.2% holding after the float.
More than half the after-tax proceeds from the sales will be returned to shareholders.
Kioxia is the world's second-biggest producer of NAND flash memory, which is used in a range of products from smartphones to self-driving cars, after Samsung Electronics. Toshiba spun off its memory unit in 2018 following a ruinous accounting scandal and financial troubles at former U.S. nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse Electric.
Toshiba sold the memory unit for roughly 2 trillion yen ($18.7 billion) to an international group of investors that included U.S. buyout firm Bain Capital. Toshiba later spent about 350 billion yen to purchase the 40.2% stake.
Details of the sale, such as the number of shares, will be determined later. Kioxia plans to list on the first section of the Tokyo exchange in October pending approval by the bourse in August.
Kioxia's market value is expected to be in the trillions of yen, which would generate a large return for Toshiba.
Toshiba is focusing operations around infrastructure services in a quest to create a stable earnings structure resilient to economic swings. The offloading of Kioxia shares appears to be part of this push.
The semiconductor industry is characterized by wide swings in earnings. As an equity-method affiliate, Kioxia's fortunes has an effect on Toshiba's earnings.
Toshiba greatly improved its group operating profit for the year ended March, but the company still turned in a net loss. Part of the blame fell on Kioxia's red ink for the period.
Investors have called upon Toshiba stabilize earnings by selling off its holdings in Kioxia.
The group restructured and raised new capital, and about 70% of Toshiba is now owned by non-Japanese investors. President and CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani, an executive with a background in finance, has worked to boost shareholder returns, such as greenlighting a share buyback approximating 700 billion yen. Most of the after-tax proceeds from the Kioxia sale will be also be directed toward shareholder rewards.
Meanwhile, Toshiba announced Friday that Yoshimitsu Kobayashi will resign as board chairman. The company is moving to appoint Osamu Nagayama, honorary chairman at Chugai Pharmaceutical, as the replacement.
At the beginning of this year, Toshiba announced accounting irregularities at subsidiary Toshiba IT-Services, indicating that the scandal-prone group has not fully regained its footing. Critics have pointed out the lack of a visible growth strategy.
Nikkei Asian Review
The semiconductor business sees wild swings in fortune. By selling its stake in the chip unit, Toshiba can stabilize its earnings.
ASIA.NIKKEI.COM
Toshiba to offload memory chip unit to buffer market volatility
Sale of Kioxia shares set for after unit's
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