Western Digital Purchases SanDisk

Storage solutions manufacturer Western Digital (WDC) has agreed to purchase all outstanding shares of SanDisk (SNDK), the company announced Oct. 21.

The deal, which is valued at an estimated $19 billion, or $86.10 per share, is set to close in Western Digital’s third quarter for 2016.

The exact purchase price is liable to change based on the closing of Chinese company’s Unisplendour’s investment in Western Digital last month, according to the announcement.

Western Digital said the acquisition will further the company’s mission to become a global storage solutions company, and will effectively double its addressable market by providing access to high-growth segments. A merger will also enable Western Digital to access solid state technology at a lower cost, the company said.

“This transformational acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to be an innovative leader in the storage industry by providing compelling, high-quality products with leading technology,” said Steve Milligan, chief executive officer for Western Digital, in a statement. “The combined company will be ideally positioned to capture the growth opportunities created by the rapidly evolving storage industry.”

Toshiba will honor its previous partnership with SanDisk following the acquisition. Western Digital said it will work with Toshiba to enable “vertical integration through a technology partnership driven by deep collaboration across design and process capabilities,” especially in terms of its NAND flash architecture.

Steve Milligan will serve as CEO of the combined company, with SanDisk President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra expected to join the Western Digital board of directors.

The company will remain headquartered in Irvine, California.

“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 Mehrotra. “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.”

SanDisk’s acquisition marks the third major technology company purchase in the past week, following the announcements that Silver Lake Partners and Thoma Bravo have acquired SolarWinds N-Able and Thales Security’s purchase of Vormetric.