Samsung nixes SanDisk offer, blasts recent decisions
updated 12:55 am EDT, Wed October 22, 2008
Samsung snubs SanDisk
Talks between Samsung and SanDisk have ended, with a letter sent by Samsung chief Yoon Woo Lee to SanDisk's Eli Harari and Irwin Federman, blasting its board for not acting to resolve a deal. The letter is intertwined with warning, about how SanDisk's recently posted quarter-billion dollar loss reflects the ailing state of its market. Lee also draws attention to SanDisk's "hurried renegotiaton [sic]" with Toshiba, as well as major job losses as being major signs it should have more closely considered Samsung's offer.
Lee assured "full, fair and certain value" for shareholders, saying the combined venture consisting of the two flash memory giants would give both companies a broader platform, with a wider range of opportunities.
Although Lee's tone was that of disappointment, he summarizes with positive thoughts. "While I regret that we were unable to work together to achieve a business combination that would have created new opportunities for all of us, we wish you the best in meeting the challenges ahead," writes Lee.
SanDisk was resistant to negotiations, claiming that Samsung vastly undervalued the company's worth, taking an "opportunistic attempt" to remove a competitor from the flash memory market.
Samsung was offering $26 per share, or $5.8 billion for SanDisk.
