SanDisk to Supply NAND Flash and Controllers, Qimonda to Supply
Mobile DRAM
MILPITAS, Calif. & MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25,
2007--SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) and Qimonda AG (NYSE:QI)
entered into an agreement to jointly develop and manufacture MCPs
utilizing SanDisk's NAND flash and controllers and Qimonda's low power
mobile DRAM. The collaboration targets the fast growing need for high
capacity, integrated memory solutions of data-intensive mobile
applications. This agreement will be executed through a jointly owned
company based in Portugal, subject to closing conditions, including
regulatory approvals.
The MCPs will be sold by Qimonda and SanDisk through their
existing sales channels to mobile handset manufacturers. According to
iSuppli, MCPs continue to be the preferred package type for placing
embedded memory into mobile handsets. iSuppli projects MCP revenues in
the mobile handset market to reach nine billion dollars by 2011 with
NAND and mobile DRAM combinations being the vast majority of memory MB
shipped in MCPs(1).
"Gaining access to SanDisk's leading-edge flash memory and
controller technology and low cost fabs broadens our memory product
portfolio," said Kin Wah Loh, Chief Executive Officer at Qimonda.
"Qimonda now completes its product offering for handheld consumer
devices by offering advanced, high density MCP solutions in addition
to a complete portfolio of low power DRAM products. Offering MCPs with
advanced mobile DRAM and high capacity NAND Flash will allow Qimonda
to optimize the architecture of memory subsystems used in mobile
phones to address the growing need of major handset vendors for
flexible bandwidth and memory utilization at competitive levels."
"By collaborating with Qimonda, a DRAM market leader with strong
expertise in low power mobile DRAM, SanDisk aims to increase its
participation in the fast growing MCP market for multimedia handsets,
thereby rounding out our one-stop-shop storage solutions for our
handset customers," said Eli Harari, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer at SanDisk. "Through this partnership, each of our companies
is leveraging the technical skills, IP and capacity investments of its
partner to offer an integrated, competitive solution for our
respective customers."
SanDisk and Qimonda have a long history in the development and
manufacturing of NAND flash memory and mobile DRAM, respectively. This
joint venture creates a synergistic relationship that enables both
companies to benefit from each others complementary memory
technologies and to offer a broad range of NAND/mobile DRAM based MCP
products. The collaboration allows both companies to take advantage of
the technology strengths and manufacturing platform of the other while
each company remains committed to its respective global markets.
Engineering samples are expected to be available for evaluation in
the second half of 2007, with mass production planned towards the end
of 2007.
About SanDisk
SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the
world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products using its
patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk
is headquartered in Milpitas, CA and has operations worldwide with
more than half its sales outside the U.S.
SanDisk currently offers a broad range of both embedded and
removable storage solutions for mobile handset manufacturers such as
iNAND(TM), mDOC, microSD(TM), miniSD(TM) and Memory Stick Micro(TM)
M2.
About Qimonda
Qimonda AG is a leading global supplier of DRAM memory products.
Following the carve out from Infineon Technologies AG on May 1, 2006,
Qimonda went public on the New York Stock Exchange on August 9, 2006.
The company generated net sales of EUR 3.81 billion in its 2006
financial year and has approximately 12,000 employees worldwide.
Qimonda has access to five 300mm manufacturing sites on three
continents and operates five major R&D facilities, including its lead
R&D center in Dresden. The company is a leading supplier of DRAM
products to PC and server manufacturers and is increasingly focusing
on products for graphics, mobile and consumer applications as well
using its power saving trench technology. Further information is
available at www.qimonda.com.
SanDisk and the SanDisk logo are trademarks of SanDisk
Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries.
iNAND is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation. miniSD and microSD are
trademarks of Toshiba Corporation. Memory Stick Micro (M2) and the
Memory Stick Micro (M2) logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation. Other
brand names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective
holder(s).
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on
assumptions and forecasts made by Qimonda's management and third
parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including
statements about Qimonda's beliefs and expectations, are
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current
plans, estimates and projections, and you should not place too much
reliance on them. These forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date they are made, and Qimonda undertakes no obligation to update
any of them in light of new information or future events. These
forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and are subject to a
number of uncertainties, including trends in demand and prices for
semiconductors generally and for Qimonda's products in particular, the
success of Qimonda's development efforts, both alone and with its
partners, the success of Qimonda's efforts to introduce new production
processes at its facilities and the actions of its competitors, the
availability of funds for planned expansion efforts and the outcome of
antitrust investigations and litigation matters, as well as other
factors. Qimonda cautions you that these and a number of other known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual
future results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed
in any forward-looking statement. These factors include those
identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in Qimonda's Annual Report
on Form 20-F for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, available
without charge on Qimonda's website and at www.sec.gov.
(1) "The NOR the Merrier and NAND is Grand in Mobile Handsets,"
NOR/SRAM/MCP Market Tracker - Q1 2007, iSuppli, Mark DeVoss, Senior
Analyst.
CONTACT: Qimonda AG
Worldwide Headquarters
Florian Gersbach, +49 89 60088 1600
florian.gersbach@qimonda.com
or
U.S.A.
Donna Wilson, +1 408-501-7188
donna.wilson@qimonda.com
or
Asia
Regine Liu, +886 2 2652 6900
regine.liu@qimonda.com
or
Japan
Kenichi Sugiyama, +81 3 5745 7339
kenichi.sugiyama@qimonda.com
or
Investor Relations Worldwide
Steve Harrison, +1 919-677-6904
steve.harrison@qimonda.com
or
Investor Relations Europe & Asia
Andreas Schaller, +49 89 60088 1200
andreas.schaller@qimonda.com
or
SanDisk Corporation
Investor Relations
Lori Barker, +1 408-801-1384
lori.barker@sandisk.com
or
Public Relations
Mike Wong, +1 408-801-1240
mike.wong@sandisk.com
SOURCE: SanDisk Corporation
