Tsinghua University has put $3.8bn on the table for hard drive manufacturer Western Digital.
Should the bid pass regulatory approvals, the deal will become the largest single investment by China into a US company. As Tsinghua is taking a minority stake, Western Digital is not expecting significant reviews by the US government, and hopes the deal will be completed by the end of Q1 2016.
Making its investment through its investment arm Unisplendour, state-backed Tsinghua will acquire a 15% non-controlling stake in Western Digital through the acquisition of 40,814,802 shares at $92.50 per share – 33% higher than Western’s share price pre-deal announcement.
Western Digital has said that it plans to use the investment to bolster its balance sheet and build on growth. At the end of last quarter, the company had around $5.3bn in cash.
