Toshiba and Western Digital put lawyers away and proceed with Toshiba Memory sale
The sale of Toshiba Memory Corporation (TMC) to the Bain Capital-led consortium called K.K. Pangea is set to proceed after Toshiba, TMC, and Western Digital came to terms, it was announced on Wednesday.
Pangea was first selected as the preferred bidder in June, besting Western Digital's bid. Soon after, the lawsuits began to fly, with Toshiba alleging Western Digital had "continually interfered with the bid process" and "exaggerated" the amount of power the firm had in relation to any potential sale.
The agreement now struck between TMC, Toshiba, and Western Digital will see all pending litigation and arbitration actions withdrawn; in addition, TMC and Western Digital have agreed to jointly invest in a new memory fabrication facility in Yokkaichi, followed by a flash wafer fabrication facility in Iwate.
TMC and Western Digital have also agreed to extend the terms of their joint ventures (JVs).
"Western Digital's core priorities have always been to protect the JVs and ensure their success and longevity, guarantee long-term access to NAND supply, protect our interests in the JVs, and create long-term value for our stakeholders," Western Digital CEO Steve Milligan said in a statement.
"I want to thank the hardworking teams at Western Digital and TMC for the dedication they have exhibited over the past several months, operating the JVs without interruption, and we look forward to building upon the success of our 17 year partnership."
Toshiba said it still expects the sale to Pangea to be completed by the end of March 2018.
In September, Pangea was selected as the winning bidder for TMC, with the sale set at 2 trillion yen. The makeup of Pangea has been said to consist of Seagate, SK Hynix, Apple, Dell, and Kingston Technology.
It is expected TMC will eventually be listed by Pangea.
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