Western Digital cleared to buy Hitachi hard disk business

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC) has given Western Digital's proposed acquisition of Hitachi's hard disk drive business its seal of approval.

The EC approved the deal yesterday, clearing the way for US-based Western Digital to buy Hitachi's Global Storage Technology subsidiary.

The approval is conditional on divestment of essential production assets for 3.5in hard disk drives (HDD), including a production plant, and accompanying measures. This is likely to help encourage competition in that market, which the EC said could stand alone from the 2.5in HDD market.

Western Digital cannot complete the acquisition of the Hitachi business, now called Viviti, until it has found a suitable purchaser for the 3.5in HDD operation that is approved by the Commission, it added.

"Hard disk drives are a key component of computers and other sophisticated electronic devices as they are used to store a growing bulk of data in the digital economy. The proposed divestiture will ensure that competition in the industry is fully restored before the merger is implemented," said European Commission VP in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia.

The two firms announced the $4.3bn deal in March of this year. µ