Update: Engadget reports that the deal is officially completed and the necessary regulatory hurdles have been cleared, making Western Digital the official owner of Sandisk.
In a statement, SanDisk CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said his company, “look[s] forward to contributing to the success of Western Digital as it transforms into the leading storage solutions company.”
Earlier, Oct 21, 2015: Sandisk Corp. was recently looking for a buyer, and since that news came in recently, there was someone to be acquiring it, and who better than Western Digital to acquire the memory chip maker? In a deal that involves both cash and stocks, WD is buying Sandisk Corp. for a total value of $19 billion.
On stocks, Sandisk is valued at about $15.4 billion, with the value of $86.50 per stock. Sandisk has been seeing lesser than expected profits, and that is due to the rising competition and alternatives. Still, this is the segment where one would be a steep rise in demand. This deal, according to WD, will also enable Western Digital to vertically integrate into NAND, securing long-term access to solid state technology at lower cost.
Flash memory is going on demand lately, and that becomes a reason of worry for Western Digital as the future won’t be looking great for hard disk drives, which the company specializes in.
SanDisk CEO Sanjay Mehrotra is expected to join Western Digital board once the deal is completed, while the CEO of Western Digital, Steve Milligan, will be on the role he is currently on.
“Western Digital is globally recognized as a leading provider of storage solutions and has a 45-year legacy of developing and manufacturing cutting-edge solutions, making the company the ideal strategic partner for SanDisk,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, president and chief executive officer, SanDisk. “Importantly, this combination also creates an even stronger partner for our customers. Joining forces with Western Digital will enable the combined company to offer the broadest portfolio of industry-leading, innovative storage solutions to customers across a wide range of markets and applications.”
According to Indiatoday, “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.”
The deal is expected to complete by third quarter of 2016.
