Western Digital Corporation plans to sell shares of SanDisk, which was spun off nearly a year ago, to raise US$3.09 billion (approximately RMB 21.362 billion). The price range for this share offering is between US$535 and US$555 per share, representing a maximum discount of 9.4% from SanDisk's closing price on Tuesday, and it has been significantly oversubscribed. SanDisk has announced the initiation of the share sale but has not disclosed the specific number of shares intended for sale. The 7.51 million shares held by Western Digital have already been registered. Western Digital plans to use the proceeds from the share sale to replace debts owed to affiliates of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which will then be sold to underwriters by these two banks. This transaction is time-limited, and if the sale is not completed within one year of the spin-off, Western Digital will face tax penalties. After market hours on Tuesday, SanDisk's stock price fell by approximately 3%, while Western Digital's stock price remained largely stable. Affected by the global shortage of memory chips, demand for SanDisk's products has surged, which is expected to drive revenue growth this year. SanDisk is the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 index this year, with a year-to-date increase of 149%. The Chief Financial Officer of Western Digital stated that they plan to sell out all shares before the first anniversary of the spin-off, with this offering led by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.
