Seagate Adds Style to Storage in LaCie Buy

Hard disk drive and storage solutions provider Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) evidently wants to add some panache to its storage offerings, snapping up the stylish consumer storage specialist LaCie for about $186 million.

The acquisition will add LaCie’s line of consumer storage solutions, network-attached storage solutions and software offerings to Seagate’s array of mainstream consumer storage products.

LaCie’s iconic Rugged series, which feature a bright orange, shock-resistant case and three connection interfaces, is a great example of the company’s dedication to function and fashion. Oh, and let’s not forget about the company’s collaborations with Porsche, French designer Philippe Starck or industrial designer Neil Poulton.

According to the companies, the combination would accelerate Seagate’s growth strategy in the expanding — not to mention highly competitive — consumer storage market, particularly in Europe and Japan; combine Seagate’s and LaCie’s engineering and software development capabilities; and expand relationships with key retailers.

Seagate competitors such as Western Digital and Iomega already have an eye on enhanced design of consumer hard drives — Iomega’s eGo series come in a variety of flashy colors, while WD’s sleek My Passport models are slim and sexy. Yes, storage can be sexy if you try.

LaCie Chairman and CEO Philippe Spruch will lead Seagate’s consumer storage products organization. Reporting to him would be Patrick Connolly, who currently serves as vice president and general manager of Seagate’s retail group, as well as Pierre van der Elst, who currently serves as deputy general manager of LaCie.

Seagate, which will take a controlling interest in LaCie by purchasing shares owned by Spurch and his affiliates, would give the company a 64.5 percent stake. The deal would be neutral to Seagate’s fiscal 2013 earnings per share, the company noted.