Apple Inc. (AAPL) Confirms Acquisition of Flash Memory Firm Anobit

Late Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has confirmed their acquisition of Israeli Flash Memory firm Anobit Technologies Ltd. AAPL did not specify their intent for the purchase or what products the acquisition would affect in their lineup of Mac and iOS devices, however, Apple did release the following statement:

Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, said today that the purchase had been made, while declining to elaborate. The statement confirmed a December report from in the Israeli newspaper Cacalist.

“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” Dowling said in a telephone interview.

A credible purchase price has not been revealed, but reports suggest that Apple paid anywhere from $400-500 million for Anobit. It is also reported that Anobit operates key flash memory controllers for the iPad and iPhone. It can be assumed that Apple acquired Anobit for control over the in-house production of iPhone and iPad flash memory.

Apple currently develops its own low power A5 chip in house, but acquires parts from other companies such as Samsung. With Anobit, Apple would have far more control over speed, production, and manufacturing of the flash memory for both iOS devices and Macbook Air.

{via MacRumors}

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