Toshiba to Acquire Fujitsu's HDD Business
February 20, 2009
Japan's Toshiba and Fujitsu signed a memorandum of understanding on February 17, 2009, for Toshiba to acquire Fujitsu's HDD (Hard Disk Drive) business, excluding the HDD head and media businesses, according to a press release by Fujitsu. Fujitsu will transfer its HDD-related businesses and functions in a new company, in which Toshiba will hold an 80%s take and Fujitsu 20%. As per the agreement, the new HDD company will eventually become Toshiba's wholly-owned subsidiary. The two companies plan to finalize on the price of the sale in March and close the deal in the April-June quarter. Through this acquisition Toshiba expects to foray into the enterprise HDD market for server and data storage system applications, in which Fujitsu excels. At the same time, Fujitsu's HDD media business will be transferred to Showa Denko, which will take over 360 workers along with the Yamagata Fujitsu facilities. Toshiba, through its acquisition deal, is expected to absorb 8,000 Fujitsu employees.