Western Digital is buying out SanDisk for 19 billion dollars

Two major players in digital storage are coming together. Hard drive manufacturing giant Western Digital announced last night that it's buying out flash storage maker SanDisk.  

The board of directors of both companies have finalised an acquisition price of US $19 billion, which Western Digital is paying in cash and company stock. The deal is definitely a big plus for WD, as hard drives might slowly be on their way out as people begin relying more and more on cloud storage offerings. Flash storage, however, is still a very stable business option, thanks to the ever-growing smartphone industry. 

“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 of Western Digital. “The combined company will be ideally positioned to capture the growth opportunities created by the rapidly evolving storage industry.” Steve Milligan will continue as CEO of the combined company, while SanDisk CEO Sanjay Mehrotra is expected to join the Western Digital board of directors.