Western Digital's Stock Soars After $3.8 Billion Investment By China's Unisplendour
Western Digital Corp.'s stock soared 15% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the digital storage company said it received a $3.78 billion equity investment from Chinese information technology company Unisplendour. Under terms of the deal, Unisplendour will pay $92.50 a share for newly-issued Western Digital shares, which is 34% above Tuesday's closing price of $68.87. Unisplendour will own 15% of Western Digital's shares outstanding after the purchase, and have the right to nominate one representative to Western's board of directors. Unisplendour has agreed not to sell any of its Western Digital stock for at least five years. "The equity investment by Unis will help facilitate our growth as we look to capitalize on the many opportunities and changes within the global storage industry," said Western Digital Chief Executive Steve Milligan. The stock had tumbled 38% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 had lost 8.5%.
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