Western Digital Co., Ltd., founded in the United States in 1970, is one of the top ten brands of hard disks, the world's leading manufacturer of data storage and hard disks, and a highly comprehensive and influential enterprise in the computer accessories industry
Founded in 1970 and headquartered in California, Western Digital Corp. is a world-renowned hard disk manufacturer, with branches or offices around the world, providing memory products for users on five continents.
As a pioneer and long-term leader in the global memory industry, Western Digital has a wealth of experience and a good reputation for serving users and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information, especially in Europe and the United States. Western Digital used to be the world's No. 1 hard drive manufacturer, but was later surpassed by Seagate, resulting in Western Digital becoming the world's second largest hard drive manufacturer, but Western Digital's hard drive products are still widely praised around the world!
The company's teams of thousands of people around the world are working tirelessly to help customers collect, manage, and use digital information. The company's hard drives are reliable wherever digital information and content are found: from desktops and laptops to external storage devices and personal video recorders. The company's customers include several of the world's largest computer and electronics companies, and readers may also be among the company's customers and are now using WD hard drives.The company's largest-capacity hard drive securely stores customers' videos, music, and photos on desktops, running quietly, generating less heat, and reading content quickly. The company understands that customers like to carry their personal digital data with them, so the company's small hard drives for laptops and portable storage devices are more power-efficient and durable.
With so much work being recorded digitally today, WD allows companies to securely store and share important data and replicate it before it is lost. WD designs and sells plug-and-play external storage devices that expand the capacity of computers and personal video recorders. They all carry the WD label and are available at retailers all over the world.
Designing, manufacturing and selling hard drives is what the company is all about. The company understands the importance of the data that customers store in their hard drives. The company is always focused on its mission, knowledge, and product innovation to ensure that customer information and content are stored safely, reliably, and conveniently.Western Digital is the vanguard of the data storage industry and the leader of the hard disk drive industry. The company provides cost-saving storage solutions to individuals and organizations that collect, manage, and use electronic information. Customers rely on WD products for hard drive selection for desktops, laptops, cell phones, handheld devices, enterprise networks, and home entertainment applications.
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2011 -- Western Digital, a U.S.-based hard disk drive manufacturer, announced on March 7 that it has agreed to acquire Hitachi's hard disk drive business for approximately $4.3 billion in cash and stock. Under the deal, Western Digital will pay $3.5 billion in cash to Hitachi and issue 25 million shares to the latter. After the issuance of these shares, Hitachi will hold about 10% of Western Digital's shares. Steve Milligan, president and CEO of Hitachi's hard disk drive business, will become president of Western Digital. Two representatives of Hitachi will join the board of directors of Western Digital. According to IHS ISuppli Research, the merger is a combination of first and third in the storage industry. The merger also cemented Western Digital's top spot, with Bloomberg saying that Western Digital will remain the storage leader for at least five years.
In 2006, Seagate acquired Maxtor for $1.9 billion, making it the world's largest hard drive manufacturer, but that position was terminated by Western Digital, which accounted for nearly 50 percent of the hard drive market in 2010.
In 2010, Western Digital attempted to acquire Seagate, but its motion was rejected for fear of antitrust obstacles. Seagate also rejected TPG's acquisition. Western Digital's acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage will further escalate its competition with Seagate in the enterprise customer market.
On March 8, 2011, Western Digital announced the end of the era of the three-legged hard disk drive market by announcing the acquisition of Hitachi's hard disk drive business (to be completed in the third quarter) for a total cash and stock value of approximately $4.3 billion. At present, Seagate's market value is about $6.32 billion, and Western Digital was $8.41 billion before the acquisition of Hitachi, and after the acquisition, it will far surpass Seagate to become the "first brother" among hard disk manufacturers.
