Back then, it was called a "broad strategic alignment." Today, it's called an "acquisition."
Whatever you want to call it, Seagate Technology
The $1.4 billion deal gives Samsung roughly 45.2 million shares, or roughly 9.6% ownership, of Seagate, with the difference settled up in cash. Samsung will also get to pick a nominee for Seagate's board. As if we needed more evidence that solid-state drives (SSD) are the future, the acquisition will strengthen Seagate's enterprise SSD and SSD hybrid drive offerings through Samsung's semiconductor products. Seagate will supply drives to Samsung for use in its PCs and other devices.
The pair has also extended its existing patent cross-licensing agreement and will work together to develop enterprise-storage offerings, which is where Fusion-io
Seagate expects the transaction to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings in the first full year after today's closing. The company also doesn't foresee significant restructuring costs and hopes to capture some cost-saving synergies.
A month before this deal was announced earlier this year, Western Digital
The hard-drive industry has been awash with troubles since the floods in Thailand, although Seagate escaped mostly unscathed. The ripples from the overflow have spread throughout the PC industry, leading Intel
With all the consolidation that's been happening in the sector, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the smaller players end up getting swallowed by the swelling titans -- but probably not until they have sufficient time to digest their latest meal.
Don't forget to use our useful -- and free -- Watchlist feature to stay updated with the latest news and analysis of the data storage sector. Add these companies to see whether any of them get swallowed whole, or whether they're the ones doing the swallowing.
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