SanDisk agreed to acquire Fusion-io (NYSE: FIO), a leading developer of flash-based PCIe hardware and software solutions, for approximately $1.1 billion, net of cash assumed.
Fusion-io, which is based in Salt Lake City, generated sales of $432 million in 2013 for its NAND Flash-based storage arrays for data centers. The Fusion-io software creates a virtual storage layer that enables file systems, volume managers, and applications to access flash through a common block interface. The company was founded in 2005 and has about 875 employees.
SanDisk, which is based in Milpitas, California, has been a storage leader for over 25 years.
“Fusion-io will accelerate our efforts to enable the flash-transformed data center, helping companies better manage increasingly heavy data workloads at a lower total cost of ownership,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, SanDisk president and CEO. “Customers will benefit from the addition of Fusion-io’s leading PCIe solutions to SanDisk’s vertically integrated business model. We look forward to working with the world-class engineering and go-to-market teams from Fusion-io to provide high-value solutions to customers around the world.”
“This transaction represents a compelling opportunity for Fusion-io’s employees, customers and shareholders,” said Shane Robison, chairman and CEO of Fusion-io. “Fusion-io’s innovative hardware and software solutions will be augmented by SanDisk’s worldwide scale and vertical integration, enabling a combined company that can offer an even more compelling value proposition for customers and partners.”
- In April, SanDisk introduced the industry’s first 4TB1 SAS SSD, surpassing all maximum capacity SAS SSDs and SAS HDDs on the market. The Optimus MAX SSD utilizes the latest 19nm eMLC NAND flash technology.