Western Digital buys SanDisk for US $19 billion

Western Digital purchased SanDisk, the world's third biggest maker of storage, in a US $19 billlion deal that will better position it to make flash memory chips for smartphones and tablets. Sandisk has long been an innovator in the field of computer storage back to the days of floppy drives up to various generations of USB flashdrives, SD cards, SSD cards and various other forms of micro storage for Ultrabooks, tablets and smartphones.

“This transformational acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to be an innovative leader in the storage industry by providing compelling, high-quality products with leading technology,” said Steve Milligan, chief executive officer, Western Digital. “The combined company will be ideally positioned to capture the growth opportunities created by the rapidly evolving storage industry. I’m excited to welcome the SanDisk team as we look to create additional value for all of our stakeholders, including our customers, shareholders and employees.”

“Western Digital is globally recognized as a leading provider of storage solutions and has a 45-year legacy of developing and manufacturing cutting-edge solutions, making the company the ideal strategic partner for SanDisk,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, president and chief executive officer, SanDisk. “Importantly, this combination also creates an even stronger partner for our customers. Joining forces with Western Digital will enable the combined company to offer the broadest portfolio of industry-leading, innovative storage solutions to customers across a wide range of markets and applications.”

The acquisition comes at a time where cost of storage is going down as capacities continue to increase. There's also surging competition from smaller manufacturers.