The story
Origins at Toshiba
In 1984, Fujio Masuoka and his colleagues at Toshiba presented a flash EEPROM memory cell at the International Electron Devices Meeting. Toshiba engineers subsequently invented NAND flash memory in 1987 and commercialized a 4-Mbit NAND device in 1991.
In January 2014, Toshiba completed its acquisition of the assets of OCZ Technology Group and launched OCZ Storage Solutions as a subsidiary, adding OCZ's SSD business to Toshiba's storage operations.
Spin-off and sale by Toshiba
In December 2016, Toshiba disclosed the possibility of major goodwill and losses related to Westinghouse Electric Company's acquisition of the nuclear construction and services business CB&I Stone & Webster. In January 2017, Toshiba said the potential losses could amount to several billion US dollars and that it needed to strengthen its financial structure.
Toshiba decided to separate its memory business into a single business entity and consider an injection of third-party capital as a financial measure. Toshiba Memory Corporation commenced operations on April 1, 2017, as a wholly owned Toshiba subsidiary responsible for the memory and related-products business.
Toshiba subsequently agreed to sell Toshiba Memory to K.K. Pangea, a special-purpose acquisition company formed by a consortium led by Bain Capital. The ¥2 trillion sale was completed on June 1, 2018. Toshiba reinvested in the business, and after the acquisition Pangea's voting rights were held 49.9% by BCPE Pangea Cayman, L.P., 40.2% by Toshiba and 9.9% by Hoya Corporation. On August 1, Pangea merged with Toshiba Memory Corporation, with the combined company retaining the Toshiba Memory Corporation name.
Establishment of Kioxia and acquisitions
Toshiba Memory Holdings Corporation was incorporated on March 1, 2019, through a sole-share transfer from Toshiba Memory Corporation. The operating company became its wholly owned subsidiary and continued to conduct research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales, while the holding company assumed group strategy and management oversight.
A power outage in Yokkaichi in June 2019 disrupted production at the Toshiba Memory and Western Digital flash manufacturing operations. Western Digital estimated that the incident reduced its flash wafer availability by about 6 exabytes.
In August 2019, Toshiba Memory announced an agreement to acquire the SSD business of Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Lite-On for US$165 million. The acquisition was completed on July 1, 2020.
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On October 1, 2019, Toshiba Memory Holdings Corporation was renamed Kioxia Holdings Corporation and Toshiba Memory Corporation was renamed Kioxia Corporation.
IPO attempts and public listing
Kioxia planned an initial public offering in 2020, but on September 28 the company postponed the offering, citing continued market volatility and concerns about a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2022, contamination of a material used in 3D NAND production disrupted operations at the Yokkaichi and Kitakami plants. Western Digital estimated that at least 6.5 exabytes of its flash availability were affected.
In 2023, Kioxia held merger talks with its manufacturing partner Western Digital. The negotiations stalled after SK Hynix, an indirect investor in Kioxia, opposed the proposed combination.
Kioxia revived its listing plans in 2024 as NAND prices and demand recovered. Reuters reported that investment in AI servers and inventory replenishment by smartphone and PC customers contributed to improved market conditions. Kioxia Holdings completed its initial public offering and began trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market on December 18, 2024. The IPO raised ¥120 billion, including the overallotment.
From Wikipedia’s article on Kioxia, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4