China chip-packaging giant JCET takes over Shanghai plant of US flash memory maker SanDisk

Chinese chip-packaging and testing giant Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Tech (JCET) has completed its acquisition of an 80 per cent equity stake in the Shanghai plant of US flash memory maker SanDisk, the latest example of a transition in the global semiconductor value chain.

JCET Management, a subsidiary of JCET, obtained that stake through a joint venture with SanDisk Semiconductor (Shanghai), with US$272 million in registered capital, Shanghai-listed JCET said in a filing on September 25. The remaining 20 per cent equity is held by SanDisk China.

The deal – worth US$624 million, according to an announcement by JCET in March – was approved in August by the State Administration for Market Regulation, China’s antitrust body.

Milpitas, California-based SanDisk is a subsidiary of Western Digital, which said a year ago that it planned to spin off its flash memory business amid a supply glut, after merger talks with Japan’s Kioxia stalled. SanDisk’s plant in Shanghai is mainly responsible for developing and testing advanced flash memory storage products.

According to updated information from corporate data provider Tianyancha, JCET CEO Zheng Li has become the new legal representative of SanDisk Semiconductor (Shanghai), replacing Bock Kim Lee, a Western Digital executive who has been appointed as board director of the joint venture.