Home >Japan Fair Trade Commission >Press Releases >Press Releases 2011 >July >

Request for Reports, etc. Concerning Proposed M&As between Hard Disc Drive (HDD) Manufacturing and Sales Entities (Start of Secondary Review) and Hearing of Third Parties Opinions

Request for Reports, etc. Concerning Proposed M&As between Hard Disc Drive (HDD) Manufacturing and Sales Entities (Start of Secondary Review) and Hearing of Third Parties Opinions

July 5/2011
Japan Fair Trade Commission

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter, the “JFTC”) has received a submission pursuant to the provisions of the Antimonopoly Act respectively from Seagate Technology International and Western Digital Ireland, Ltd., concerning possible M&As (hereinafter, the “M&As”) of these business entities,which are engaged in the manufacture and sale of hard disc drives (“HDD”), and in response has reviewed the impact of the M&As on competition. The review revealed that a more detailed review is necessary, and the JFTC has requested the companies to submit necessary reports, information or materials, pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph 9, Article 10, of the Antimonopoly Act and Paragraph 3,Article 16, of the Antimonopoly Act that apply accordingly by reading these provisions as those of Paragraph 9, Article 10, of the Antimonopoly Act.

The request by the JFTC for reports, etc. concerning the M&As does not signify that the M&As could pose any issues with respect to the Antimonopoly Act.

The JFTC is also seeking opinions from third parties concerning the impact of the M&As on competition. (See Note 2 below)

 (Note) A HDD is a storage device with media for reading and writing large volumes of data that have been coated with magnetic substances, of which the surface is brought close to the magnetic head while rotating at a high speed. HDDs have been used widely with servers, personal computers, TVs, and other appliances as well as game machines.

Note 1: Outline of the M&As

 1. Seagate Technology International is accepting the HDD business transferred by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

 2. Western Digital Ireland,Ltd., is acquiring the shares of Viviti Technologies Ltd. (former Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Holdings Ltd.)

Note 2: Submission of opinions

 The JFTC accepts opinions on the M&As as follows, until August 4, 2011.

Procedures for submitting opinions:

 Indicate clearly your address, name (or corporation name) and contact information, and send opinions in Japanese using mail, e-mail, or facsimile.

Address to send in opinions:

Mergers and Acquisitions Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, Japan Fair Trade Commission

1-1-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8987

FAX: 03-3581-5771

E-mail: hdd-acquisition@jftc.go.jp

 Opinions sent in will be used only for review of the M&As. Please note that the JFTC is not sending responses to opinions that have been sent in.

The JFTC asks you to indicate your name (or corporation name), address, and contact information for contacting you if there is any question regarding the opinions you have sent in, and the information will not be used for any other purpose.

*Every announcement is tentative translation. Please refer to the original text written in Japanese.

ページトップへ