#hitachi

Storage company Western Digital has just entered into an agreement to buy competing company Hitachi Global Storage Technologies for $4.3 billion in cash and stocks. 7, 2011 – Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) and Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT / TSE:6501)announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby WD will acquire Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $4.3 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, WD will acquire Hitachi GST for $3.5 billion in cash and 25 million WD common shares valued at $750 million, based on a WD closing stock price of $30.01 as of March 4, 2011. will own approximately ten percent of Western Digital shares outstanding after issuance of the shares and two representatives of Hitachi will be added to the WD board of directors at closing. Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer of Hitachi GST, will join WD at closing as president, reporting to John Coyne. “The acquisition of Hitachi GST is a unique opportunity for WD to create further value for our customers, stockholders, employees, suppliers and the communities in which we operate,” said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer of WD. “Together we can provide customers worldwide with the industry's most compelling and diverse set of products and services, from innovative personal storage to solid state drives for the enterprise.” Hiroaki Nakanishi, president, Hitachi, Ltd. Read more in our articles including "Western Digital buys Hitachi Storage for $4.3B" and "Google Year in Search 2025 for Philippines revealed".