Our New Storage Overlords: Western Digital Has Officially Acquired SanDisk

SanDisk_Headquarters_Milpitas

It happened. Seven months after announcing the planned acquisition and one quarter ahead of schedule, Western Digital has officially acquired SanDisk, “creating a global leader in storage technology.”

In case you weren’t aware of how big of a deal this is (speaking both literally and figuratively), WD is happy to drive home the point in this announcement released May 12th:

The addition of SanDisk makes Western Digital Corporation a comprehensive storage solutions provider with global reach, and an extensive product and technology platform that includes deep expertise in both rotating magnetic storage and non-volatile memory (NVM).

Translation: all hail our new storage overlords. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not by all that much. One of the largest makers of spinning disk hard drives has completed a $17 billion acquisition (cash and shares) of the world’s largest producer of NAND flash memory. Together, they expect to bring in a combined revenue of almost $20 billion.

If you’re curious about the details of this very big acquisition, you can read the full announcement here.

(via DPReview)

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