Western Digital reportedly may merge with Kioxia with $900 million investment

Western Digital , the world's largest data storage company, has received a total of $ 900 million (about 116 billion yen) from multiple investment funds. The investment is expected to merge with Japanese semiconductor maker Kioxia .

Western Digital Announces $900 Million Convertible Preferred Equity Investment Led by Apollo-Managed Funds | Western Digital
https://www.westerndigital.com/company/newsroom/press-releases/2023/2023-01-31-western-digital-announces-900-million-convertible-preferred-equity-investment

Western Digital to Get $900 Million From Apollo, Elliott - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-31/western-digital-to-get-900-million-from-apollo-elliott

Western Digital raises $900m from Apollo & Elliott ahead of potential Kioxia merger - DCD
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/western-digital-raises-900m-from-apollo-elliott-ahead-of-potential-kioxia-merger/

On January 31, 2023, Western Digital received a total investment of $900 million (approximately ¥116 billion) from investment funds Apollo Global Management and Elliott Investment Management . ``This investment is the result of a comprehensive process to properly manage the company's capital and preserve options for future strategic decision-making,'' said David Geckler, CEO of Western Digital.

A $900 million investment in Western Digital is seen as a sign of a merger with Japanese semiconductor maker Kioxia. It has been reported that Western Digital has been negotiating a merger with Kioxia since August 2021.

It turns out that Western Digital is negotiating a merger with Kioxia, and the purchase price is over 2 trillion yen - GIGAZINE

An official said, 'We are still negotiating the merger of Western Digital and Kioxia at the time of writing the article, so we will refrain from commenting on the details.' Western Digital also plans to merge and merge Kioxia's flash memory division into a jointly listed company in the United States. Western Digital's HDD division, on the other hand, will not be merged and is expected to continue to operate independently.

Western Digital is struggling with declining revenues from oversupply in the data storage market, while global inflation has forced consumers to buy less smartphones and computers. In addition, since Samsung continues to dominate the semiconductor market for storage, Western Digital's merger of Kioxia is expected to be a financial catalyst for the data storage market.