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Expectations that Western Digital ( WDC ) shareholders will agree to the acquisition of SanDisk ( SNDK ) increased Thursday, with Summit Research issuing an upbeat report. “We think that shareholder approval is most likely a done deal,” wrote Summit Research analyst Srini Sundararajan. The vote among Western Digital shareholders is set for March 15. A definitive agreement between the two companies was reached on Oct. 21. The Summit report follows another from RBC analyst Amit Daryanani, who said an analysis of the top 20 Western Digital shareholders and discussions with a large number of investors indicate “the probability is higher the deal gets approved vs. not.” He said 15 of the top 20 Western Digital shareholders also own SanDisk stock, making the potential approval likely. Western Digital and SanDisk combined had revenue of about $20 billion in 2015. Western Digital is largest provider of disk drives, ahead of Seagate Technology ( STX, ), though the market has struggled as PC sales decline. SanDisk is a leading provider of flash-memory chips used in smartphones, tablets, hybrid disk drives and other devices. Western Digital says the combination with SanDisk will continue to transform it into a storage solutions company with extensive product and technology assets and deep expertise in chip-based storage. The deal currently consists of Western Digital paying $67.50 a share in cash plus 0.2387 shares of Western Digital stock, making it worth about $16 billion. The deal was valued at $86.50 a share, or about $19 billion, when it was first announced on Oct. 21. That changed when China’s Unisplendour pulled its plan to make a $3.8 billion investment for a 15% stake in Western Digital on Feb. 23, amid a U.S. government inquiry. By terminating the investment, Unisplendour triggered the alternative deal. According to Sundararajan, the deal is now worth $78.82 a share, based on the current price of Western Digital shares. Western Digital stock was flat, near 47, in afternoon trading in the stock market today . SanDisk stock was near 76, up a fraction. Western Digital anticipates seeing $500 million in total cost synergies, not including tax savings, from the acquisition. Institutional Shareholder Services, a leading independent proxy advisory firm, issued a report on Feb. 29 recommending that Western Digital shareholders approve the deal. ISS said the deal could attain $1.1 billion in cost synergies within 12 months of closing. China regulators, which have a say in the transaction based on Western Digital investments in China, have yet to issue a ruling. Sundararajan expects China to approve. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News