Western Digital Comments on Toshiba’s Announcement Regarding Flash JV Interests
June 21 2017 - 12:58AM
Business Wire
Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) today issued the following
statement regarding Toshiba Corporation’s selection of a consortium
led by Korea-based SK Hynix Inc. and Bain Capital Japan, with
funding provided by Japanese government funds Innovation Network
Corporation of Japan and Development Bank of Japan Inc., as the
preferred bidder regarding the sale of Toshiba’s interests in three
NAND flash-memory joint ventures operated with Western Digital’s
SanDisk subsidiaries (“Flash JVs”):
Toshiba Corporation continues to ignore both
SanDisk’s consent rights and the dual-track legal process currently
underway. The language of the relevant agreements is clear: Toshiba
Corporation has no right to transfer its JV interests to a third
party without SanDisk’s consent. SanDisk has not given its consent
to any transaction, and will continue to protect its JV interests
and preserve its rights through both its request for injunctive
relief and the arbitration process.
We note that Toshiba has acknowledged and
validated SanDisk’s consent rights on multiple occasions.
Furthermore, certain parties identified in Toshiba’s announcement
have previously been notified by Western Digital that it considers
any effort to aid Toshiba’s breach of its contractual obligations
to SanDisk, including any agreement to directly or indirectly
transfer any portion of the joint venture, as tortious interference
with contract.
On June 15, 2017, Western Digital’s SanDisk
subsidiaries filed a request for injunctive relief seeking to
prevent Toshiba Corporation from transferring its JV interests
until the request of the subsidiaries for injunctive relief in
arbitration is decided by the arbitral tribunal. The arbitration
filed on May 14, 2017, with the ICC International Court of
Arbitration continues to move forward in parallel.
We remain confident in our consent rights and
our legal position and look forward to the hearing for injunctive
relief, which is scheduled for July 14, 2017.
About Western Digital
Western Digital is an industry-leading provider of storage
technologies and solutions that enable people to create, leverage,
experience and preserve data. The company addresses ever-changing
market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling,
high-quality storage solutions with customer-focused innovation,
high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Our products are marketed
under the HGST, SanDisk and WD brands to OEMs, distributors,
resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers. Financial
and investor information is available on the company's Investor
Relations website at investor.wdc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including statements concerning the Flash JVs, SanDisk’s rights
under the JV agreements and Western Digital’s or SanDisk’s actions
in response to Toshiba’s announcement that it has declared a
preferred bidder regarding the sale of Toshiba’s interests in the
Flash JVs. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that may
cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including,
among others: uncertainties with respect to the company's business
ventures with Toshiba; volatility in global economic conditions;
business conditions and growth in the storage ecosystem; impact of
competitive products and pricing; market acceptance and cost of
commodity materials and specialized product components; actions by
competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; our
development and introduction of products based on new technologies
and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with
acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures; difficulties or delays in
manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the
company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC"), including the company's Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May
8, 2017, to which your attention is directed. You should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect
subsequent events or circumstances.
Western Digital, WD and SanDisk are registered trademarks or
trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the
U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks, registered
trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the
property of their respective owners. © 2017 Western Digital
Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170620006631/en/
Western Digital Corp.Media Contact:Jim
Pascoe408.717.6999jim.pascoe@wdc.comorInvestor Contact:Bob
Blair949.672.7834robert.blair@wdc.comorJoele Frank, Wilkinson
Brimmer KatcherEric Brielmann / Jed Repko / Ed Trissel415-869-3950
/ 212-355-4449wdcmedia@joelefrank.com
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