
U.S. chip gear maker Applied Materials Inc on Monday agreed to buy Japanese peer Kokusai Electric for US$2.2 billion from KKR & Co Inc, as it bets on rising demand for memory chips used in data centres, 5G phones and AI-powered devices.


U.S. chip gear maker Applied Materials Inc on Monday agreed to buy Japanese peer Kokusai Electric for US$2.2 billion from KKR & Co Inc, as it bets on rising demand for memory chips used in data centres, 5G phones and AI-powered devices.