According to Korean media, South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix intends to operate Intel's NAND business as a separate company and plans to set up new companies in the U.S. and China.

Intel Vice President Robert Crooke will lead the U.S. company. Some analysts believe that he was hired to prevent Intel engineers from leaving.

SK Hynix noted in its third-quarter earnings call last year that " we will strive to avoid losing core talent, and SK's contract with Intel has included provisions to that effect."

Robert Crooke stated that it is an honor to be named CEO of SK Hynix's new company, "We plan to hire more than 150 new employees globally to work in China, Taiwan, Poland, the United Kingdom, and California."

Graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in computer science, Robert Crooke joined Intel as an engineer in 1989. He is now in charge of the non-volatile memory (NVM) division, including the NAND business.

Last October, SK Hynix announced the acquisition of Intel's NAND flash memory and SSD (solid-state drive) business for $9 billion, which has been approved by seven countries, including the U.S. and South Korea, and the deal is now only pending approval by the Chinese government.

Once approved, SK Hynix plans to set up a new company in China as well. The industry expects the company to locate in Dalian, where Intel's NAND plant is located.