Western Digital and Kioxia Are in Advanced Talks

Western Digital And Kioxia are Making Progress In Their Merger Talks And Have Come Up With a Rough Structure That Would Eventually Involve a Dual-listing in Japan, According to Sources Familiar With the Matter.

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Under the terms being discussed, Western Digital would spin off its flash business and merge it with Kioxia, creating a publicly traded company in the US, the people
The companies are working toward an announcement in the next few months, but the details are not finalized and could still change.
Western Digital and Kioxia representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

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In June, Western Digital announced that it was reviewing its strategic options following discussions with activist investor Elliott Investment Management. Bloomberg News reported this month that Western Digital and Kioxia had revived merger talks, after discussing a possible pairing in 2021.

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The companies have been circling each other for years and joining forces will help them take on Samsung Electronics Co., the leader in the memory industry. Combined, the two will become the world’s second-largest maker of flash memory chips that provide storage in everything from smartphones to super computers.
Western Digital's stock rose 2.4% to close at $38.46 on Friday, giving the company a market value of around $12 billion.

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Kioxia, a closely held company backed by Bain Capital and Toshiba Corp, was spun out of Toshiba in 2018. It is the last Japanese chipmaker capable of producing semiconductors on cutting-edge production technology. Japan has seen its lead in that vital field overtaken by South Korea and Taiwan.

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Toshiba is in talks with a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc. to take the company private.