Today China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced a decision that will allow large portions of both HGST and WD to be integrated under Western Digital Corporation. Western Digital states that as a unified entity the company will further drive its ability to innovate and lead in the changing data storage industry by leveraging its extensive technology capability, deepened patent and product portfolios, and talented global team. The integrations activities will begin immediately and will continue over the next two years.
Today China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced a decision that will allow large portions of both HGST and WD to be integrated under Western Digital Corporation. Western Digital states that as a unified entity the company will further drive its ability to innovate and lead in the changing data storage industry by leveraging its extensive technology capability, deepened patent and product portfolios, and talented global team. The integrations activities will begin immediately and will continue over the next two years.
As part of the acquisition of HGST in 2012, there was a “hold separate” restriction within the deal. WD has been in ongoing dialogue regarding with restriction. WD will continue to offer both product brands and maintain separate sales teams for two years following the agreement. WD expects to see significant opportunities for growth, synergies and cost savings as they integrate the key functions of both companies such as research and development, heads and media operations, engineering and manufacturing.
WD also announced that the former president of the HGST subsidiary, Mike Cordano, will be appointed the new COO of Western Digital. The former president of the WD subsidiary, Jim Murphy, will now lead the Storage Devices business unit, which includes the company's HDD and SSD products. Jim Welsh and Dave Tang will lead the company's Content Solutions and Storage Solutions business units, respectively. The current CEO of Western Digital, Steve Milligan, will continue on in his role as well as overseeing an Advanced Technology organization led by Steve Campbell, former chief technology officer for HGST. The appointments announced today are effective immediately.
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