Feb 18 2004
Showa Denko have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with hard disk manufacturer Trace Storage Technology of Taiwan. Under the agreement, Showa Denko is looking to acquire shares in Trace and thereby become a joint venture partner. The shares will be acquired through a new share allocation, using shares set aside for third parties.
Before the transaction can proceed, Showa Denko must complete due diligence and the arrangement must be approved by the Taiwanese government.
Showa Denko provided hard disk media production technology to Trace last year. Trace also own aluminium substrate production facilities.
Meanwhile, Showa Denko have been looking to make further inroads into the hard disk market. In January of last year they established Showa Denko HD Singapore and increased production capacity by 1 million disks in October. The Trace technology alliance formed last year also helped this business.
Showa Denko is now the only independent vendor that can provide both glass and aluminium hard disks substrates in commercial quantities. They are also the largest independent hard disk supplier with an 8.3 million hard disks per month capacity. Should the Trace deal go ahead, they will increase capacity at Trace, giving them a total capacity of over 10 million hard disks per month.
For more information on hard disks, click here.