Intel To Invest US$100 Million In Elpida Memory

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Elpida Memory, Inc. (Elpida), a manufacturer of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and Intel Corporation today announced they have signed an agreement for Intel to invest approximately US$100 million in Elpida Memory in return for non-voting stock. Elpida Memory plans to use the proceeds from this proposed investment and other intended financing to significantly boost production at its 300-mm, sub-0.11 micron DRAM wafer fabrication plant in Hiroshima, Japan. Assuming timely satisfaction of all closing conditions, including satisfactory completion of due diligence, receipt of necessary internal and regulatory approvals and achievement of a substantial additional funding amount from other investors, the parties anticipate closing the Intel investment in coordination with the closing of the additional financing that Elpida intends to raise later this year.

In addition to the proposed investment, Elpida and Intel have signed a multi-year commercial agreement. As part of the agreement, the companies will share roadmaps in order to develop new DRAM architectures. DRAM is a key component in any computing system, and advancing DRAM technology helps to improve system performance by providing faster memory access to meet the increasing performance requirements of the newest generation architectures. Additional details were not disclosed.