Way back in 2015, PC storage company Western Digital announced it had acquired the well known Flash memory company SanDisk for $19 billion in a combination cash and stock deal. Today, Western Digital basically announced a 180 on that purchase, announcing it would spring off its Flash business into its own separate company.
In a press release, Western Digital stated:
In completing its strategic review after fully evaluating a comprehensive range of alternatives, Western Digital has determined that to realize its full value, spinning off its Flash business is the best, executable alternative at this time. To that end, Western Digital believes the current timing for implementing a stand-alone separation strategy is advantageous in its efforts to create shareholder value as industry conditions improve.
David Goeckeler, the CEO of Western Digital, stated in the press release that the company had already set up "separate Flash and HDD product business units and separating operational capabilites over the past several years." This new plan to spin-off the Flash part of the business will, according to him, "further enable each company to drive long-term success in the years to come.”
The plan to separate Western Digital"s Flash and HDD businesses is still subject to the board"s approval, along with other conditions such as the availability of financing and a way to structure the spin-off so that it is tax-free. The spin-off is currently scheduled to happen sometime in the second half of 2024.
Earlier, Western Digital was in talks to merge with another Flash memory company, the Japan-based Kioxia. However, Reuters reports that those talks stalled last week, due to one of Kioxia"s investors, SK Hynix, reporting expressing its opposition to the merger plan. Western Digital made no references to the Kioxia deal talks in its press release nor in its financial conference call with analysts today.