Western Digital is seeking to raise US$3.09 billion through the sale of its remaining stake in Sandisk, nearly a year after spinning off its flash memory business.
The shares are being marketed at between US$535 and US$555 apiece, according to people familiar with the matter, representing a discount of as much as 9.4% to Sandisk’s closing price of US$590.59 on Tuesday. The offering has been well oversubscribed following confidential marketing, the people said.
Sandisk launched the sale on behalf of its former parent in a statement on Tuesday, without specifying the number of shares. However, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that 7.51 million shares had been registered for sale.
Under the proposed structure, Western Digital is expected to exchange the Sandisk shares for debt held by affiliates of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. The banks will then sell the stock to underwriters in the offering, which they are leading.
Sandisk shares slipped 1% to US$584 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, while Western Digital shares were little changed at US$284.01. Representatives for both companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The sale comes against the backdrop of a global flash memory shortage fuelled by artificial intelligence-related spending. Demand for Sandisk’s products has historically tracked the technology sector’s boom-and-bust cycles. With spot prices for DRAM chips climbing sharply since September, Sandisk’s shares and those of its peers are expected to remain elevated into 2026.
Western Digital had previously signalled plans to divest its remaining 7.5 million Sandisk shares before the first anniversary of the spinoff, which was completed on 24 February last year, as part of efforts to streamline its balance sheet.
Bloomberg
