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Samsung rumoured to be eyeing up SanDisk

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Samsung rumoured to be eyeing up SanDisk

05.09.2008
Rapidly evolving consumer electronics giant Samsung is rumoured to be pursuing an acquisition of the US data storage giant SanDisk. If it comes off, it will make Samsung a dominant force in the market for digital cameras and phones.

California-based SanDisk dominates the market for portable storage products such as flash memory, USB flash drives, digital audio players and SIM cards.

While the company outsources production of these devices, it holds hundreds of valuable patents and gets royalty and licensing fees from companies that use certain storage devices.

The move, if successful, could cement Samsung’s position as a crucial storage market player. Samsung has 38pc of the market for NAND Flash storage devices used in iPods, mobile phones and USB keys.

According to various reports, Samsung would be willing to pay US$3bn to acquire SanDisk.

SanDisk has 12.4pc of that particular market. The move would dramatically shake up the US$15bn global memory market and be a decisive blow against Samsung’s next largest rival in the memory game, Toshiba.

By John Kennedy