The restructuring of Western Digital Corporation, which implies the separation of the solid-state memory business, has long been discussed at the rumor level. According to sources Bloomberg, a deal with Kioxia could take place in the coming months, creating a combined company with shares listed in both the U.S. and Japan. Western Digital representatives will conduct business.
Image source: Kioxia
Negotiations between the participants in a potential deal are progressing, according to the source, although it’s too early to talk about its final structure. At this point, it is understood that WDC’s solid-state memory business will be structurally separated from the American group and merged with Kioxia’s assets. The combined company’s shares will go public in both the US and Japan, but with some delay.
An alliance between WDC and Kioxia was already discussed in 2021, but then no concrete agreements could be reached. Now the solid-state memory business is going through a rough patch: Prices and demand have fallen, but that could encourage mergers on cheaper terms. The combination of these companies’ assets will create the world’s second-largest solid-state memory maker after Samsung. Kioxia and Western Digital now have a flash memory joint venture in Japan, so the two companies have had to interact one way or another over the years.
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