WD in possible USD 20 billion take-over of Kioxia?

The companies could reach an agreement as early as mid-September, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Kioxia Holdings Corp and Western Digital both said to "not comment on speculation about mergers". If realised, this could reshape the NAND market significantly. Top player Samsung holds about 34% marketshare. (evertiq reported.) Kioxia and Western Digital hold 18.3% and 14.7% respectively. The new company could not only challenge Samsung's dominance in the NAND market, but also help consolidate the chip market. "In the long term, we expect the NAND market to ... consolidate down to about three leading players for a largely commodity-like product," Morningstar analyst William Kerwin is cited in saying in the Reuters article.