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In recent months, there have been rumours claiming that merger discussions are taking place between Kioxia and Western Digital. Now, it seems that we're nearing an official announcement.
According to Kyodo News (via Tom's Hardware), Kioxia and Western Digital are on the verge of completing their merger, which might happen as soon as this month. If it happens, the two companies together will create the world's biggest manufacturer of NAND flash memory.
The strategic partnership entails the development of a holding company that will integrate its expertise in NAND flash memory chip manufacture, with the goal of listing the new conglomerate on the Nasdaq stock market. Western Digital intends to acquire 51% of the new company. The remaining 49% will be divided among Kioxia's owners, who include Toshiba, which controls 40% of the company. Assuming the ownership shares will remain equal after the merger, Toshiba will own about 19.6% of the new firm.
The merger represents a significant change in the NAND memory industry. Kioxia and Western Digital are poised to overtake the current industry leader, Samsung Electronics, by capturing a sizable market share. According to TrendForce, their combined share in NAND memory is expected to reach roughly 34.3%, surpassing Samsung's 31.1% share as of Q2 2023. Meanwhile, the new company will be far larger than SK Hynix.
A group of large Japanese banks, notably MUFG Bank and the Development Bank of Japan, is planning a substantial financial package. This package, which might total 1.9 trillion JPY ($12.7 billion USD), is intended to help the merger come to reality. While allegations of Western Digital's intention to merge its NAND memory division with Kioxia have been swirling for months, neither company has commented on the possible merger yet.
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KitGuru says: How do you think this merger will affect the market? Assuming the merger goes forth, can Samsung recover first place in the industry?
