SK Hynix Vice Chairman Park Jeong-ho explains the company vision▶ Click here for a larger view
Park Jeong-ho SK hynix[000660] The vice chairman announced on the 30th that he was considering a plan to jointly acquire ‘ARM’, a British semiconductor design company.
After the regular shareholders’ meeting held at the headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the same day, Vice Chairman Park said, “I don’t think ARM is a company that can be acquired by one company,” he said, “As a consortium with strategic investors. We are considering taking over,” he said.
It is said that SK Hynix’s review of the acquisition of ARM is still in its infancy.
ARM is a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank and a UK-based semiconductor design company.
SoftBank Group tried to sell ARM to US semiconductor company Nvidia in September 2020, but it was rejected by regulatory authorities. Son Jeong-eui (Japanese name Masayoshi Son), chairman of Softbank Group, is currently pushing for ARM to be listed on the NASDAQ stock market.
Vice Chairman Park, who is also the CEO of SK Square, the parent company of SK Hynix, responded to a question from shareholders about the plan to acquire ARM at the SK Square shareholders’ meeting on the 28th. It will be,” he said.
ARM possesses a number of core technology for designing AP (application processor) semiconductors developed and sold by Samsung Electronics, Apple, and Qualcomm.
SK hynix, which focuses on the memory semiconductor business, has decided to acquire a domestic foundry company ‘Key Foundry’ to strengthen its foundry (semiconductor consignment production) business, and is currently undergoing regulatory approval procedures.
SK hynix held regular shareholders’ meeting▶ Click here for a larger view
At the general shareholders’ meeting on the same day, Vice Chairman Park said, “On the 10th anniversary of its foundation, SK hynix has grown in a way that no one could have imagined.” We will leap forward as a global first-class technology company.”
Vice Chairman Park, who chaired the shareholders’ meeting for the first time since taking office as CEO in March of last year, said, “We will maximize synergy by gradually integrating Solid State Drive (SSD) businesses of Solidigm and SK hynix.” We will further grow our NAND business,” he emphasized.
In December of last year, SK hynix completed the first phase acquisition of Intel’s NAND business division and launched a subsidiary ‘Solidigm’ to grow its NAND business.
Regarding future growth infrastructure, Vice Chairman Park explained, “The Yongin cluster will respond to long-term demand and become a key base for a semiconductor ecosystem that coexists with material, parts, and equipment (minister manager) partners.”
He continued, “We will build an R&D center in Silicon Valley, USA, and use it as a key base for collaboration with big tech companies to strengthen our technological competitiveness.”
In addition, Vice Chairman Park expressed his will to enhance shareholder value by stabilizing the profit structure.
He mentioned that the semiconductor industry has been undervalued in the market due to the cycle of repeated booms and recessions, and said, “We strengthen partnerships with global companies and increase investment efficiency and productivity based on the highest level of technology, resulting in a stable profit structure. We’re going to build a foundation,” he said.
At the shareholders’ meeting, agenda items such as the appointment of new inside directors Kwak No-jeong and Roh Jong-won as president, and the re-appointment of Ha Young-koo as outside directors were resolved.
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