Apple buys Israeli flash storage firm

Apple has bought Israeli flash storage firm Anobit for up to US$500 million, the Calcalist financial daily reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper said Anobit's management was in the process of gathering its staff to formally announce the acquisition by Apple.

Last week the industry paper reported Apple was in advanced talks to buy Anobit for $400-$500 million.

In addition to the acquisition, Apple will also open a research and development centre in Israel, its first outside the United States, Calcalist said.

Anobit and Apple were not available for comment.

Anobit has developed a chip that enhances flash drive performance through signal processing. The chip is already incorporated in Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and the MacBook Air.

Reports indicated Apple was interested in Anobit's technology to increase and enhance the memory volume and performance of its devices. The chip may as much as double the memory volume in the new iPads and MacBooks.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)