December 14, 2011, Updated September 11, 2012

Apple is reportedly in talks to buy Israel’s Anobit – a global leader of flash storage solutions – for as much as half a billion dollars.

The Israeli financial newspaper, Calcalist, broke the story, reporting that Apple is in advanced negotiations to buy Anobit for $400 million to $500 million.

If the deal goes through, Calcalist reported, it would be one of Apple’s largest ever acquisitions and its first in Israel. Apple usually buys software firms and not hardware, the report said.

The Israeli semiconductor designer has developed a chip that significantly improves the endurance, performance and cost of flash storage products and systems. The chip can already be found in some Apple devices including the iPhone, iPad and the MacBook Air.

Anobit was founded in 2006 and is based in Herzliya Piruach.

Anobit and Apple have not responded to press inquiries surrounding news of the possible acquisition.

 

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