Western Digital is acquiring SanDisk for around $19 billion

Western Digital Corp. on Wednesday said it would acquire memory chipmaker SanDisk Corp for about $19 billion. It’s the latest merger in a large wave of consolidation among semiconductor chipmakers. Under the offer, Western Digital agreed to pay the chipmaker $86.50 a share in a combination of cash and stock, based on a five-day volume weighted average price of $79.60, ending in Oct. 20. Shares of SanDisk rose 4.6 percent to $78.69 in pre-market trading, following the announcement. Western Digital shares fell 3.82 percent to $72.00. The move comes as Western Digital looks to grab a piece of the rapidly growing flash storage market, fueled by demand for solid-state hard drives (SSDs) within enterprise data centers, desktop PCs and smartphone storage chips. “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,” Western Digital CEO Steve Milligan, said in a press statement. “The combined company will be ideally positioned to capture the growth opportunities created by the rapidly evolving storage industry.”