HGST

Not to be confused with Hitachi Data Systems.
HGST
Subsidiary of a public company
Industry Computer storage devices
Predecessor Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Founded 2003
Headquarters San Jose, California, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 John F. Coyne (CEO & President)
Steve Milligan (President)
Products Hard disk drives
Number of employees
 45,000
Parent Western Digital
Website www.hgst.com

HGST, Inc. (formerly Hitachi Global Storage Technologies) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Digital that sells hard disk drives, solid-state drives, and external storage products and services.[1]

History

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies was founded in 2003 as a merger of the hard disk drive businesses of IBM and Hitachi.[2] Hitachi paid IBM US$2.05 billion for its HDD business.[3]

On March 8, 2012, Western Digital (WD) acquired Hitachi Global Storage Technologies for $3.9 billion in cash and 25 million shares of WD common stock valued at approximately $0.9 billion. The deal resulted in Hitachi, Ltd. owning approximately 10 percent of WD shares outstanding, and reserving the right to designate two individuals to the board of directors of WD. It was agreed that WD would operate with WD Technologies and HGST as wholly owned subsidiaries and they would compete in the marketplace with separate brands and product lines.[4][5][6]

To address the requirements of regulatory agencies, in May 2012 WD divested to Toshiba assets that enabled Toshiba to manufacture and sell 3.5-inch hard drives for the desktop and consumer electronics markets.[7][8]

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Japan, Ltd. is the Japanese branch of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Inc.

In November 2013, the company announced a 6 TB capacity drive filled with helium.[9] In September 2014, the company announced a 10 TB helium drive, which uses shingled magnetic recording to improve density.[10]

Products

Hard drives and solid-state drives

Ultrastar HUA723020ALA640

External storage

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hitachi Global Storage Technologies - Background
  2. ↑ Hitachi Establishes "Hitachi Global Storage Technologies," Taking A Bold New Step for Storage Innovation
  3. ↑ Hitachi buys IBM disk drive business, June 6, 2002
  4. ↑ Hitachi Completes Transfer of Hard Disk Drive Business to Western Digital
  5. ↑ WD Completes Acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies - Creates the Industry's Deepest Technology Capability and Broadest Product Portfolio
  6. ↑ theverge.com: Western Digital completes $4.8b Hitachi GST buyout, becomes world's largest HDD manufacturer
  7. ↑ WD Reaches Agreement with Toshiba Corporation to Divest Certain 3.5-Inch HDD Assets
  8. ↑ WD Completes Divestiture of Assets to Toshiba Corporation
  9. ↑ Chris Mellor (November 4, 2013). "Helium-Filled disks lift off: You can't keep these 6TB beasts down". The Register. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  10. ↑ Geoff Gasior (September 9, 2013). "Shingled platters breathe helium inside HGST's 10TB hard drive". The Tech Report. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ http://www.lifestudio.com
  12. ↑ Dong Ngo (July 7, 2010). "Hitachi unveils LifeStudio storage solutions". CNet news blog. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  13. ↑ http://www.hitachigst.com/press-room/2010/hitachi-gst-redefines-external-storage-with-the-lifestudio-drive-family
  14. ↑ "Hitachi GST Completes Acquisition of Fabrik, Inc. — Company Sets Stage for Continued Global Expansion". News release. April 6, 2009. Archived from the original on September 10, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2013.

External links