Boise, ID, December 18, 2001 - Micron Technology, Inc., (NYSE: MU) announced today that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Toshiba Corporation pursuant to which Micron will acquire Toshiba's commodity DRAM business. The sale will include the assets of Dominion Semiconductor, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba based in Manassas, Virginia, including its land, buildings and DRAM production equipment.
Toshiba will terminate its commodity DRAM business, and will gradually phase out production at its Yokkaichi Operations.
In announcing the proposed acquisition, Steve Appleton, president, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Micron Technology, stated, "This transaction clearly demonstrates Micron's commitment to further strengthen its memory business in the face of a significant industry downturn. Similar to prior transactions, we believe this acquisition will better position the company to more cost-efficiently produce its products and to establish new customer relationships throughout the world."
The Dominion facility was originally a joint venture project between Toshiba and IBM, which began full-scale wafer production in 1997. In 2000, Toshiba purchased IBM's ownership interest. The plant is located in Manassas, Virginia, approximately 30 miles West of Washington D.C.
The proposed sale does not include Flash equipment of FlashVision LLC, a joint venture of Toshiba and SanDisk, located at Dominion. It is anticipated that such equipment will be relocated during a transition period.
About Micron Technology
Micron Technology, Inc., and its subsidiaries manufacture and market DRAMs, very fast SRAMs, Flash Memory, other semiconductor components, and memory modules. Micron's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit its web site at http://www.micron.com/.
About Toshiba Corporation
Toshiba Corporation's wide-ranging capabilities assure the company's position as a world leader in semiconductors, LCDs and other electronic devices, and allow it to support customers around the world with a complete portfolio of semiconductor solutions. Toshiba has 188,000 employees and annual sales of over US$47 billion. Visit Toshiba's website at http://www.toshiba.co.jp.