Western Digital, Japan’s Kioxia restart merger talks – Bloomberg News

Industry:    2023-01-05

Memory chip maker Western Digital Corp and Japan’s Kioxia Holdings Corp have restarted merger talks, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The report added that the structure of a potential deal is fluid and both companies are considering merging into one publicly traded company.

Kioxia, which was spun off from Toshiba Corp, and Western Digital operate a joint flash memory chip plant in central Japan’s Yokkaichi.

When asked about the report, Kioxia said that it does not comment on market rumours or speculation, while Western Digital said that it doesn’t speculate on M&A activity.

Western Digital’s shares rose about 8% in trading after the bell.

U.S.-based memory chip firm Western Digital said in June that it was reviewing strategic alternatives, including options for splitting off its flash memory and hard disk drive businesses.

Talks between the two companies had stalled over a series of issues, including valuation discrepancies and uncertainty over securing approval from the Japanese government, Reuters reported in October 2021, citing sources.

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