Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Fusion-io (FIO.DL) soared 23% today after data storage giant SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) agreed to acquire the memory platform technologist for $1.1 billion.
So what: The all-cash deal values Fusion-io at $11.50 per share and represents a 21% premium to its closing price on Friday. SanDisk is making the move to boost its flash storage business, as well as to lower its exposure to volatile memory chips. Judging by the company's own 3% pop today, Mr. Market seems happy with the price that management is paying.
Now what: SanDisk expects the deal to close in the third quarter and to be accretive to its non-generally accepted accounting principles earnings in the second half of 2015. "Fusion-io will accelerate our efforts to enable the flash-transformed data center, helping companies better manage increasingly heavy data workloads at a lower total cost of ownership," said SanDisk President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra in a press release. "Customers will benefit from the addition of Fusion-io's leading PCIe solutions to SanDisk's vertically integrated business model." So while Fusion-io shares are likely all popped out at this point, SanDisk's newly bolstered scale and increased diversification might be worth looking into.
