Toshiba Memory picks up Lite-On SSD business in $165 million deal – ZDNet

Former Toshiba memory business to rebrand as Kioxia
The name change will take effect at the start of October.

The company soon to be known as Kioxia, currently still referred to as Toshiba Memory Holdings, has announced it will purchase the SSD business of Lite-On for $165 million.

In a statement, Toshiba Memory said the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2020, however local media were more specific and said the deal would close in April. In the 2018 fiscal year, Lite-On reported revenue of NT$207 billion, approximately $6.6 billion.

“Lite-On’s solid state drive business is a natural and strategic fit with Toshiba Memory and expands our focus in the SSD industry,” Nobuo Hayasaka, acting President and CEO of Toshiba Memory Holding Corporation said.

“This is an exciting acquisition for us, as it positions us to meet the projected growth in demand for SSDs in PCs and data centers being driven by the increased use of cloud services.”

In July, Toshiba Memory announced it would rebrand as Kioxia in October.

Toshiba Memory was sold off to a consortium led by US private equity firm Bain Capital in June last year in a deal worth over ¥2 trillion. Toshiba Corporation was able to retain a 40% interest in the new company.

For its first quarter results announced last month, Toshiba Memory reported a ¥33 billion drop in sales to ¥214 billion yen compared to last year, with net loss widening from ¥19 billion to ¥95 billion.

The company said a power outage in Yokkaichi on June 15 hit its operations and had a ¥34.4 billion impact on operating income, and it is expected to flow through to Q2. Most of its equipment was restored by mid-July.

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