Kioxia, Western Digital halt merger talks amid SK Hynix’s objection

Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. and its U.S. peer Western Digital Corp. have halted merger talks after they found it difficult to gain approval from South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc., a major investor in Kioxia, sources familiar with the matter said Friday.

The two companies were expected to agree on the merger by the end of the month, a move that would have created the world’s leading producer of memory chips for PCs and smartphones. The sources said they may resume talks later, though it is uncertain how the deal will end.

The two companies had planned to set up a holding company to integ...