Western Digital to Buy SanDisk in $19 Billion Deal

The deal is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2016.

Hard disk drive maker Western Digital Corp said it would buy memory chip maker SanDisk Corp for about $19 billion (roughly Rs. 1,23,765 crores), the latest in a wave of consolidation in the chip-making industry.

The cash-and-stock offer values SanDisk at $86.50 (roughly Rs. 5,630) per share, or a total equity value of about $19 billion, using a five-day volume weighted average price ending on Oct. 20 of $79.60 (roughly Rs. 5,185) per share of Western Digital stock.

SanDisk's shares rose 6.4 percent to $80 in pre-market trading. Western Digital's shares were down 1.1 percent at $74.

Demand for cheaper chips and new products to power Internet-connected gadgets, as well as a push from technology companies to consolidate suppliers, has led to record levels of dealmaking in the semiconductor sector this year.

The value of the SanDisk acquisition will depend on the closing and approval of an investment from a unit of China's state-backed Tsinghua Holdings Co Ltd, Unisplendour Corp Ltd in Western Digital, the companies said on Wednesday.

Source
 
Craziest deal size i can think of in the storage industry. I am expecting huge price drops in Flash memory products in a year or two.

So, Sandisk RMA would be done by WD now?
 
I dont think so. All I remember was how WD & Seagate monopolized the HDD market. And the aftermath of the Floods led to rise in price and fall in quality. Now they are on to SSD. Beware consumers.
 
Back
Top