Western Digital Corporation (WDC) has confirmed that China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has allowed the company to integrate HGST and WD under their banner as one unified entity.
“The decision announced today positions us for continued growth and long-term value creation,” said Steve Milligan, chief executive officer of WDC. “HGST and WD are an exceptional combination, and together, we will set the pace for innovation in this dynamic and evolving industry.”
The process of integration is expected to last for up to two years, with the corporate, research and development, heads and media operations, and engineering and manufacturing departments all expected to merge for streamlined growth and cost-savings.
Mike Cordano, former president of HGST, will be taking over as president and CEO of WD; Jim Murphy, former president of WD, will be heading the Storage Devices business unit; Jim Welsh and Dave tang will oversee the Content Solutions and Storage Solutions business units, respectively; Steve Milligan will continue serving as CEO of WDC; and Steve Campbell will be leading their Advanced Technology organization. The appointments are effective immediately.
The WD-HGST merger arrives at a time where cloud computing is booming. WDC hopes to continue bringing businesses and consumers even more ways to store, access, manage, and analyze data, whether from a personal or enterprise standpoint.