Western Digital told to pay Seagate $525m

Western Digital has suffered a major hit as Seagate Technology won an arbitration award against it on Friday.

Western Digital was told pay its rival $525m (£336m) following confidential arbitration action in Minnesota. The award was based upon claims by Seagate against Western Digital and a former Seagate employee. Seagate alleges that the said individual misappropriated confidential information and trade secrets.

Despite the pending award, Western Digital is denying the validity of the claims. "We do not believe there is any basis in law or fact for the damage award of the arbitrator," its president and chief executive officer John Coyne said in a statement. "We believe the company acted properly at all times and we will vigorously challenge the award."

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Seagate wins $525 million from Western Digital on ZDNet.com.