Divestment: Violin sells off PCIe flash card

This article notes that Violin has divested itself of its PCIe flash card. This card was, to a degree, a shot across the Fusion IO/Virident/Micron bows. I don’t think it ever was a significant threat to them though. Terms of the sale indicate about $23M cash and assumptions of $0.5M liabilities, as well as hiring the team. What is interesting is where it was sold. Hynix. Yes, the memory chip/flash maker. I’ve been saying for a while that the parts OEMs want to get more vertically integrated, and capture more of the up-market margin and business. PCIe flash cards would be up-market for Hynix, and they’d be able to find a willing reseller community to push this. This is also one less distraction for Violin. Given their other issues, this may or may not make a difference. I fully expect to hear more M&A; and divestment announcements soon. Companies are girding themselves for the battles in the new market space ahead.