Memory-Holed? Western Digital Dumps $3 Billion Sandisk Stock Stake

Almost exactly a year after the spinoff officially closed on Feb. 24 last year, Western Digital is seeking to raise $3.09 billion from the sale of its remaining equity stake in Sandisk.

While WDC has risen dramatically, SNDK has been on quite a tear since the spin-off…

Chief Financial Officer Kris Sennesael said on Western Digital’s quarterly earnings call Jan. 29. that the company planned to sell its remaining 7.5 million Sandisk shares before the one-year anniversary of the separation.

And so, according to a statement Sandisk launched the sale on behalf of its former parent in a statement Tuesday that didn’t disclose how many shares it would sell.

According to the statement, Western Digital is expected to exchange the SanDisk shares for debt held by affiliates of JPMorgan and Bank of America.

For now, WDC is flat in the after-hours trade but SNDK is down around 8%, extending the losses during the day…

Amid a global shortage of flash memory, that has sent DRAM prices soaring since September, demand for Sandisk’s products, which are used in computers and mobile phones, has, as Bloomberg reports, been linked to the tech industry’s characteristic boom and bust cycles, keeping valuations in check.

The banks will sell the stock to the underwriters of the offering, whom they represent.

Did WDC’s decision just mark the top in the memory melt-up?