Deal worth up to $450 million

Toshiba is in the final stages of talks with Fujitsu to acquire its hard drive business and Nikkei estimates the deal could be worth anywhere from $335 to $447 million.

Recently, Fujitsu rejected WD's offer of over $550 million, after it was unable to work out a deal under which its workers would be spared a ticker tape parade of pink slips.

While the deal might not make Toshiba the biggest hard drive maker in the world, it could further solidify its lead in the small form-factor hard drive market.

The market trend of shifting to notebooks, netbooks and SFF desktops/nettops in place of desktops is making 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch drives a hot commodity, and Fujitsu already has a relatively successful line of affordable 2.5-inch units.

More here.

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