Western Digital and sTec have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which sTec, Inc., an early innovator in enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs), will be acquired by HGST, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western Digital. sTec will be acquired for approximately $340 million in cash, which equates to $6.85 per share. This represents approximately $207 million in enterprise value, net of sTec's cash as of March 31, 2013.

Stec specializes in hard drives used in servers and data centers. The pending acquisition augments HGST's existing solid-state storage capabilities, accelerating its ability to expand its participation in the area of enterprise SSDs. HGST said it remained committed to its joint development program with Intel and will continue to deliver current and future SAS-based SSD products with Intel.

sTec has intellectual property that will complement HGST technical expertise and capabilities. HGST will continue to support existing sTec products and collaborate with its customers to understand their future requirements.

Closing of the acquisition, which is subject to customary conditions, is expected to occur in the third or fourth calendar quarter of 2013.