Apple has clinched an acquisition deal with flash memory maker Anobit, which is based in the Israeli city of Herzliya Pituach.
“Welcome to Israel, Apple on your 1st acquisition here,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu tweeted minutes after Anobit employees were reportedly informed of the transaction.
Although Cupertino has yet to provide details of the deal, the final sale price apparently weighed in at approximately $400 million – $500 million.
Apple’s acquisition of the Israeli company is expected to help Cupertino bolster the reliability of solid-state memory found in a number of flagship devices, including the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air.
In addition to purchasing Anobit, Apple is planning to build a semiconductor development center in the Israeli city of Haifa, where other industry heavyweights, such as Intel, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Qualcomm, also maintain facilities.
Anobit describes itself as a 200-employee Israeli fabless semiconductor company that specializes in flash storage. The corporation – founded in 2006 – boasts approximately 100 pending and granted patents.
According to AppleInsider, Apple CEO Tim Cook is particularly interested in Anobit’s proprietary memory signal processing technology. Anobit’s flash memory tech is already found in Apple’s flagship iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air.
