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Notiziario Marketpress di
Venerdì 06 Ottobre 2000 |
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MAXTOR AND QUANTUM´S HDD UNIT AGREE TO MERGE, CREATING WORLD´S LEADING DISK DRIVE COMPANY
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Milpitas, Calif. , October 6, 2000 - Maxtor Corporation (Nasdaq: Mxtr) and Quantum Corporation (Nyse: Dss); Nyse: Hdd) today announced a definitive agreement to combine Maxtor and Quantum Hdd, Quantum´s Hard Disk Drive Group, in an all-stock transaction that will create the world´s leading disk drive company. Quantum´s Hdd stockholders will receive 1. 52 shares of Maxtor common stock for every share of Hdd common stock they own. Based on the current market capitalizations of Maxtor and Quantum Hdd, the transaction is valued at approximately $2. 3 billion. To be named Maxtor Corporation, the combined company will be led by Mike Cannon, Maxtor´s current president and chief executive officer. At closing, on a pro forma basis, the company will have a combined ship rate of more than 50 million hard drives annually for use in a broad range of desktop personal computers, Intel-based servers, and consumer electronics applications. In addition, Maxtor´s Network Systems Group, which is currently shipping a family of network-attached storage (Nas) products under the Maxattach brand, will be part of the combined company. ``This is a bold and strategic step for both companies,´´ said Mr. Cannon. ``The combined company will have the financial resources, product breadth, and intellectual property to capitalize on the future explosive growth of storage at both the storage device and subsystem levels. By combining the resources of the two companies and the manufacturing expertise of Matsushita-kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd. (´´Mke``), a strategic partner of Quantum, the combined enterprise will be able to maintain a leadership position in desktop drives and be exceptionally well positioned to expand rapidly into other high-growth segments, including Intel-server drives, consumer electronics drives, and server appliances. ``This combination of resources is also expected to reduce duplicative expenses. We anticipate that, with the operational efficiencies resulting from this transaction, we will be in a position to offer better value for our customers, while generating the profits necessary to fund expanded research and development to become a stronger competitor in this industry,´´ Mr. Cannon said. Michael A. Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of Quantum Corporation, who will join the new company´s board of directors, said: ``This transaction is an important step in the evolution of our industry. The merged company can achieve a number of synergies, making it a stronger competitor, and enabling it to better meet the needs of its customers. I am confident that under Mike Cannon´s capable leadership, the combination of Maxtor and Quantum Hdd will be well-positioned to build long-term stockholder value. ´´ The transaction is expected to be tax-free to Maxtor, Quantum, and their respective stockholders and will be accounted for under the purchase method of accounting. Earnings per share are projected to become accretive in early 2002. It is expected that the merger of Quantum Hdd and Maxtor will generate annualized cost savings of $120 million to $200 million within 18 to 24 months following completion of the transaction. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, will create an enterprise with annual sales of approximately $6 billion and with one of the strongest balance sheets of any publicly held disk drive company. Quantum´s Dlt & Storage Systems Group (Nyse: Dss), which is not involved in the Quantum Hdd/maxtor transaction, will operate as a legally separate, standalone company that will be known as Quantum Corporation and that will be led by Michael A. Brown. Stockholders of Quantum Dss, which like Quantum Hdd is a tracking stock of Quantum, will receive on a one-for-one basis shares of the then-independent company comprising all of the operations and assets of the current Quantum Dlt & Storage Systems Group. Additionally, Dss will incur special accounting charges upon completion of the transaction related to conversion of Quantum employee stock options. The company will maintain Quantum´s current strategic relationship with Matsushita-kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd. (``Mke´´) and also continue to utilize Maxtor´s current manufacturing capability, including its manufacturing facilities in Singapore. Mr. Cannon said: ``I fully expect the sixteen-year relationship that Quantum has established with Mke to grow and strengthen as our strategic manufacturing partner. The combination of Mke´s renowned automated, high-volume manufacturing and Maxtor´s flexible cell-based approach will create a company with the industry´s best manufacturing capability. ´´ Mr. Sachihiko Hamaguchi, president of Mke, said: ``We are pleased to affirm our alliance with the combined company as its strategic partner for the manufacture of hard disk drives and continuing the excellent working relationship of mutual prosperity that we have established at Quantum. We look forward to working with our new partners at the combined enterprise. ´´ The company will offer an industry-leading portfolio of storage products, including: the industry´s broadest range of desktop hard disk drives; high-performance Scsi drives, including the Atlas 10K family, which has been labeled as the world´s fastest 10,000 rpm product line by Storagereview. Com; consumer electronics hard disk drives, where the combination of Maxtor´s leading capacity points and Quantum´s business relationships will result in new and exciting opportunities to revolutionize content delivery to the home; and Network-attached storage (Nas) appliances with the award-winning Maxattach product family. Completion of the merger, which is expected to occur in early calendar 2001, is subject to the approval of Maxtor and Quantum Hdd stockholders, expiration or termination of the applicable Hart-scott-rodino waiting periods, approval by the European regulatory authorities, and other customary conditions. Hyundai Electronics America, an approximately 35% stockholder of Maxtor, has signed an agreement to vote in favor of the transaction. It is anticipated that the new company will record special restructuring charges and incur other one-time expenses at the time of completion. The aggregate amount of these charges and expenses for the new enterprise is expected to total between $120 million and $180 million. Salomon Smith Barney is acting as financial advisor to Maxtor, and Lehman Brothers Inc. Is acting as financial advisor to Quantum with regard to the transaction. Infolink: http://www. Maxtor. Com www. Quantum. Com . |
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