Western Digital To Split Flash Memory Business

Western Digital said on Monday it would spin off its flash memory business that has been grappling with a supply glut after talks of merging the unit with Japan's Kioxia stalled. From a report: The split will leave the data storage products maker with its traditional hard-disk drive business and create two publicly traded firms, giving into demands from activist investor Elliott. The move clears years of uncertainty over Western Digital's flash memory unit that was built through its $19 billion purchase of SanDisk in 2016 and caters to the smartphone and computer industries. Demand for flash chips has slumped after the pandemic, leaving the market awash in supply and increasing the pressure on chipmakers to consolidate. Since 2021, Western Digital and its manufacturing partner Kioxia have been in talks for a merger that would create a company that controls a third of the global NAND flash market.

Yay

[slaker]

I've had relatively good luck over my life with SanDisk memory cards.

I have had statistically improbable but nonetheless significantly worse experiences with WD-branded drives (other than those that came from the former IBM/Hitachi business unit, which apparently never merged with mainstream WD).

I would vastly prefer that my Sandisk disks not have WDness all over them.

Re:

[garyisabusyguy]

I have wondered how spinning disk companies would survive the onslaught of flash memory products, maybe WD decided to field inferior flash memory to keep people tied to hard drives...

Re:

[oh_my_080980980]

"I have wondered how spinning disk companies would survive the onslaught of flash memory products"

You mean like making SSD drivers and NVMe drives - something all "spinning disk companies" do.

Re:

[drinkypoo]

I used to have good experiences with Sandisk products, but those experiences have gone downhill so I switched to Samsung. I know this is weird because mostly I won't mess with Samsung stuff, but I've been happy with their flash products in general.

Maybe after this I will try Sandisk again.

Activist investors are anoying

[rta]

I can't speak to ultimate management focus efficiencies, extracting profits, "unlocking value", and these various things that these corporate engineering efforts try to maximize.

But from a long term strategic pov it's hard to see how a major storage company with an outlook of years and decades is going to be well served by spinning off its solid state division. Surely even if the future is not pure "nand", it is some form of multi-tiered hybrid, rather than pure spinning metal disks.

Re:

[slaker]

My understanding of WD comes from a mid-level manager who retired in 2022, but he led me to believe that large acquisitions under its umbrella have kept their own management and facilities in place.

Maybe Western Digital raided SanDisk of some patents and important employees so that it can spin up its own solid state business while SanDisk's assets still have relatively high value?

"pressure on chipmakers to consolidate.."

[Luminary Crush]

Saying the quiet part out loud... rather than making better product they could charge more for, let's merge so we can have an oligopoly and raise prices on everyone while doing the same thing!