Read the full version
27.10.2023 06:49, Alexey Razin
Until recently, it was believed that the deal between Western Digital and Kioxia would be announced at the end of October, but the agency Nikkei last night it reported that negotiations on this topic had been stopped. Allegedly, the main obstacle to completing the deal was the opposition of SK hynix, which has been an investor in Kioxia capital since 2018.
Image source: Kioxia
According to the primary source, the American corporation Western Digital notified Kioxia of its intentions to terminate the negotiation process due to opposition from SK hynix. The latter, we recall, yesterday confirmed its readiness to protect the interests of shareholders and oppose the merger of Western Digital and Kioxia assets related to the production of solid-state memory. The companies, as specified, also failed to reach an agreement with Kioxia’s main shareholder, the investment company Bain Capital, which led the buyout of Toshiba Memory Corporation’s assets in 2018.
SK hynix at the time invested a total of $2.67 billion in Kioxia’s capital, part of which ($856 million) was spent on convertible bonds, the redemption of which would allow the Korean memory maker to gain control of a 15% stake in the Japanese rival. Kioxia is now content with fourth place in the solid-state memory market, and SK hynix ranks second, but if the former teamed up with Western Digital, then together they would even surpass Samsung Electronics, the leader in this market segment. The South Korean company SK hynix had its own plans to cooperate with Kioxia, which could have been hindered by the deal with Western Digital. The collapse of this deal will not prevent Western Digital and Kioxia from continuing to produce memory through a joint venture in Japan.
2023-10-27 03:49:00
#Western #Digital #Kioxia #merger #talks #fall
