Micron Technology has disclosed that the Tokyo District Court has approved Elpida Memory's restructuring plan. The plan calls for Micron to sponsor Elpida's reorganization under which Elpida will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Micron.

The court approval followed an Elpida creditor vote that concluded on February 26.

"This is an important milestone that brings us a significant step closer to Micron and Elpida becoming the world's second largest memory company with the strongest product portfolio in the industry," Micron CEO Mark Durcan, said in a statement.

The closing of the transaction remains subject to other conditions, including finalization of the Tokyo District Court's approval order under Japanese bankruptcy rules that could occur as early as four weeks from today presuming no appeal is filed, and recognition by the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (or alternative court actions providing substantially similar effect).

Elpida and Micron continue to target completion of the transaction in the first half of 2013, according to the companies.

Micron in July 2012 announced a deal to acquire bankrupt DRAM maker Elpida for JPY200 billion (US$2.5 billion).