Fujitsu transfers hard drive business to Toshiba

Fujitsu's HDD business will be known as Toshiba Storage Device Corporation

Toshiba and Fujitsu have wrapped up a deal which will see Fujitsu's entire hard disk drive (HDD) business transferred to Toshiba.

The deal was announced in February with a memorandum of understanding, and the companies are set to complete the transfer by 1 July.

Fujitsu's HDD business and functions will be transferred to a newly created company known as Toshiba Storage Device Corporation (TSDC).

The relevant HDD manufacturing subsidiaries - Fujitsu Computer Products Corporation of the Philippines and Fujitsu Thailand - will become Toshiba Storage Device Philippines and Toshiba Storage Device Thailand respectively.

Similarly, the HDD related business of Yamagata Fujitsu Ltd will become Toshiba Storage Device Yamagata Corporation. On completion of the transfer, these three companies will become wholly owned subsidiaries of TSDC.

As part of the ¥30bn (£203m) deal, Toshiba will acquire a stake of 80.1 per cent in the new company, and make it a Toshiba Group subsidiary. Fujitsu will retain the remaining 19.9 per cent stake until the end of December 2010, when it will transfer its stake to Toshiba.

After the transfer, Toshiba will handle the sales and marketing of all HDD products, while research and development, quality assurance, production technology and technology support will go to TSDC.

Fujitsu's sales and marketing offices outside Japan, with the exception of some offices in certain regions, will be transferred to Toshiba's overseas business operations.

Around 800 Japanese employees and approximately 7,000 workers around the world from the Fujitsu Group will transfer to Toshiba.

Toshiba plans to use the acquisition to push its development of small form factor HDDs and expand its solid state drive business.