Analyst Predicts Intel Will Make a Play for Micron

Posted 08/17/2011 at 9:23am | by Paul Lilly

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Google's surprise $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola ranks as a major acquisition and may have set the tone for other industry heavyweights to spend big on consolidation. One analysts predicts Intel will be next to make a big move and has NAND flash memory maker Micron Technology on its radar.

"We would not be surprised to see INTC (Intel) make a significant move and acquire MU (Micron Technology) in order to bring DRAM and NAND technology in-house and sell platform solutions," ThinkEquity analyst Krishna Shankar wrote in a note to clients, according to the International Business Times.

The demand for NAND flash memory is at an all-time high with smartphones and tablets marching into the mainstream, and by selling itself to Intel, Shankar says Micron would stand to gain a much larger margin by being part of a platform company. The upshot for Intel would be a wider range of technology to infuse into its mobile platforms.

"Intel could also design platform processor/memory solutions with lower power, higher performance, smaller form factor, etc.," Shankar added.

Micron wouldn't come cheap. According to IBT, Micron's market capital sits at $6.51 billion, with an enterprise value of $5.7 billion.