Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) ("Western Digital" or "the Company") today announced its Board of Directors has unanimously approved a plan to separate its HDD and Flash businesses. Creating two independent, public companies with market-specific, strategic focus, the company's separation will be...
Seems like a way to spin off debt into a subsidiary…
Or WD flash needs to merge with Kioxia long term and it doesn’t matter whether it is still part of WD devices long term. Maybe Kioxia is the buyer instead?
That said I’m skeptical that this is the right move in light of Samsung (who has clear leadership) being the most about vertical integration.
What does vertical integration mean in the context of SSDs? WD already owns a stake in their in house NAND fab and of course does NAND tech design in house. They make their own in house controllers, and combine the two in unique final products that are sold under their own brand.