Samsung to Sell Hard-Disk Drive Unit to Seagate
Samsung Electronics Co. will sell its hard-disk drive business to U.S.-based Seagate Technology Inc. for $1.38 billion in cash and stock, in a move that will help the company shed an unprofitable business and focus on next-generation displays and solar cells.
In a joint statement, the companies said Samsung will transfer the business to Seagate in return for about a 9.6 percent stake in the hard disk drive maker valued at about $687.5 million. The remainder will be paid in cash. The deal requires both U.S. and international regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the end of this year, the statement said.
The companies said the deal “will enable both companies to better align their current and future product development efforts and roadmaps, accelerate time-to-market for new products and position the companies to better address rapidly evolving opportunities in markets including…mobile computing, cloud computing and solid state storage.”