Rumor has it that the storage space is due for a makeover. More specifically, traditional disk drive powerhouse Seagate Technology
Actually, chances of just such a deal look pretty strong. Seagate is flush with cash thanks to the counterintuitive windfall from last year's flooding disasters in Thailand, and buying OCZ would give the company instant credibility in the budding SSD market. Chief rival Western Digital
The market loved this idea, sending OCZ shares up by 23% on Thursday. Fellow SSD expert STEC
The OCZ buyout rumor comes from a familiar but imperfect source. Fuad Abazovic's Fudzilla site is well-connected in the chip industry, but hardly the second coming of The Wall Street Journal's or Bloomberg's anonymous sources.
But the deal looks likely enough to generate coverage from well-respected outlets like Barron's and Forbes, and analyst Tiernan Ray also notes that this rumor is "plausible." So I'm not the only one who thinks this makes sense.
I have a bullish long-term CAPScall on OCZ, originally based on tremendous value and strong stand-alone growth prospects. Now I can add "buyout bait" to that list of catalysts.