U.S. chip gear maker Applied Materials Inc. agreed Monday to buy Japanese peer Kokusai Electric for $2.2 billion from KKR & Co. as it bets on rising demand for memory chips used in data centers, 5G phones and AI-powered devices.
The acquisition comes against the backdrop of a glut in the memory chip market stemming from a decline in demand from smartphone makers that has squeezed prices and weighed on sales of chipmaking equipment.
Applied Materials said the Kokusai deal does not require the approval of the U.S. Justice Department, which had forced the company to scrap its $10 billion takeover of another Japanese firm, Tokyo Electron Ltd., in 2015.