SK hynix, South Korea‘s second-largest chipmaker, announced Friday that the company has received approval from the US foreign investment watchdog for acquiring Intel’s NAND business.

Upon the approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, SK hynix said it has completed all foreign investment screening procedures the US requires.

Earlier, the company had obtained the approval of the US Federal Trade Commission, late last year.

SK hynix said the company would start the acquisition process by the end of this year, when review procedures in other nations are completed. The South Korean chipmaker plans to make the first payment of $7 billion to Intel this year and hand over the remaining $2 billion in early 2025 to complete the takeover.

“SK hynix expects to improve its technological capability and competitiveness in the global market through the acquisition,” a SK hynix official said.

In October last year, SK hynix signed a deal to buy Intel’s nonvolatile memory unit for $9 billion. The nonvolatile memory unit includes the US tech giant’s solid-state drive business and a NAND flash chip plant in Dalian, China.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)