JCET Acquires Majority Stake in SanDisk’s Shanghai Plant: A $624 Million Move to Expand China’s Data Storage Market Share

Chinese semiconductor packaging leader, JCET, has acquired the Shanghai factory of the American flash memory producer, SanDisk. The purchase, worth $624 million, is anticipated to boost JCET's stake in China's data storage sector.

Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Tech (JCET), a leading Chinese firm in chip-packaging and testing, has successfully acquired 80% ownership of the Shanghai facility of the American flash memory producer, SanDisk. This is the most recent instance of shifts occurring in the worldwide semiconductor market.

JCET Management, a branch of JCET, secured this share through a collaborative project with SanDisk Semiconductor (Shanghai), contributing US$272 million to the registered capital, according to a statement from JCET, which is listed in Shanghai, on September 25. SanDisk China retains the last 20 per cent of the equity.

The transaction, valued at $624 million as stated by JCET in March, received the green light in August from China's State Administration for Market Regulation, the country's competition watchdog.

SanDisk, a subsidiary of Western Digital located in Milpitas, California, had plans announced by its parent company a year ago to separate its flash memory business due to an excess supply, following unsuccessful merger discussions with Japanese company, Kioxia. The primary function of SanDisk's Shanghai facility is to develop and test high-end flash memory storage products.

New details from business data firm Tianyancha reveal that JCET CEO Zheng Li has taken over as the official representative of SanDisk Semiconductor (Shanghai), succeeding Bock Kim Lee. Lee, a senior executive at Western Digital, has been named as a board director of the partnership.