Reuters: Western Digital and Kioxia continue merger talks

Western Digital and Kioxia are said to be busy continuing their merger negotiations. A ‘concrete deal structure’ is currently being formulated. The manufacturers have been working together as a joint venture for the production of nand memory for decades.

For now, both companies have not confirmed that such a deal is in the works, but two people involved say to Reuters that there are talks going on. Based on the current deal structure, one of the sources reports that the resulting company will be 43 percent owned by Kioxia after the merger, while 37 percent will be owned by Western Digital. The remaining 20 percent will go to the current shareholders of the two companies.

Rumors have been circulating for some time about a possible merger between Western Digital and Kioxia, formerly Toshiba Memory. Shortly after the initial reporting, however, it was suggested that negotiations were stalled, partly due to disagreements over the valuation of the respective companies. Negotiations reportedly resumed in early January.

In any case, the two hardware manufacturers have a joint venture until at least 2029. Western Digital and Kioxia are the fourth and second largest nand memory manufacturers in the world, respectively, with an estimated market share of over 12.6 and 21.6 percent respectively, Statista said. With the current market division, a merger between the two companies would result in the largest flash producer in the world, with a few percent more market share than the current market leader, Samsung.