We all know Sandisk as the global leader in flash memory, they’re company whose products fill the memory slots of our DSLR cameras, smartphones, tablets and more. And now, they’re going to be bought by Western Digital for $19 Billion.
Western Digital, for those who do not know, is an american corporation who specialises in computer data storage and is one of the world’s leaders in hard disk manufacturing. The acquisition will be in terms of cash-and-stock and values SanDisk at $86.50 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 per share of Western Digital stock.
This comes after rumours that Sandisk was looking for a potential buyer and as a result of 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.
Furthermore with flash memory becoming the new norm, as opposed to Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), this acquisition could lead to more Solid State Drives (SSDs) being produced by Western Digital
Update:
SanDisk CEO Sanjay Mehrotra is expected to join the Western Digital board upon the closing of the deal, which is expect to happen in the third calendar quarter of 2016. Western Digital CEO Steve Milligan will continue as CEO.
This story is still developing and will be updated
