Western Digital Seeks To Block Sale Of Toshiba's Chip Unit

[Guest]

Western Digital announced that it’s taking its fight with Toshiba to the International Court of Arbitration in San Francisco to stop the sale of its jointly operated memory-chip business without its consent.


Western Digital Seeks To Block Sale Of Toshiba's Chip Unit : Read more

 

[jcwbnimble]

So Toshiba own Westinghouse Electric. Bad move on their part. I can't speak for most people, but I do know that I would never buy a Westinghouse product, unless it was cheap toaster or other lower cost item. I've never trusted the brand and would be loathe to buy their products, especially if their is a similar product from a company I trust. I would much rather buy an LG or Samsung TV for a few bucks more than a cheaper Westinghouse. What made Toshiba think the Westinghouse name was worth buying?

 

[patrick47018]

So Toshiba own Westinghouse Electric. Bad move on their part. I can't speak for most people, but I do know that I would never buy a Westinghouse product, unless it was cheap toaster or other lower cost item. I've never trusted the brand and would be loathe to buy their products, especially if their is a similar product from a company I trust. I would much rather buy an LG or Samsung TV for a few bucks more than a cheaper Westinghouse. What made Toshiba think the Westinghouse name was worth buying?

They bought Westinghouse for its nuclear energy technology. Not the cheap electronics branded under the Westinghouse name.

 

[littleleo]

And the Ironic thing is it is that Nuclear business segment that has done so bad it is sinking all of Toshiba. It would have been better if that had bought the cheap electronics unit instead.

 

[Spock_rhp]

Y'all are misremembering what happened at Toshiba. They first bought the Westinghouse nuclear reactor business. Later they bought a nuclear plant construction business and merged it into Westinghouse. Fukushima, rather suddenly, caused the FERC and NRC to significantly upgrade the designs, which caused costs in the power plant construction business [not the reactor business] to exceed the guaranteed price to utility customers.

Imho, this illustrates the foolhardiness of signing fixed price contracts without also fixing the technology those contracts will be applied to. If the bargainers and attorneys had done their job correctly, what would have happened when NRC changed the requirements is that construction would have stopped while the clients considered the suddenly imposed higher costs [and possibly went back to their regulators for permission to either proceed or abandon the project].

Toshiba didn't do its due diligence properly in the purchase of the power plant construction business. So, both it and the reactor business it was merged into (another oops) are now in bankruptcy and the utilities face the same exact situation -- do you proceed and pay much more or stop and abandon all work done to date?

[Yes, I know which way the green lobby wants the decision to go. Fortunately, they aren't in charge -- the public utility commissions are.]

 

[bloodroses]

So Toshiba own Westinghouse Electric. Bad move on their part. I can't speak for most people, but I do know that I would never buy a Westinghouse product, unless it was cheap toaster or other lower cost item. I've never trusted the brand and would be loathe to buy their products, especially if their is a similar product from a company I trust. I would much rather buy an LG or Samsung TV for a few bucks more than a cheaper Westinghouse. What made Toshiba think the Westinghouse name was worth buying?

Honestly I've had bad luck with LG and Samsung TVs. My wife did get a cheap Westinghouse one time, surprising it still works. I wouldn't call it high quality though... lol

Personally, I'd rather go with something not South Korea based as the quality appears better such as Sony, Panasonic, Vizio, Sharp.

 

[RainCaster]

It looks like WDC wants to own the whole business without paying market value for it. OK, that's a nice dream but the real world doesn't work that way. It is my understanding that arbitration can be a very long process, which is not in Toshiba's best interest. They can refuse arbitration, and continue on with the sale. Timing is improved, as is the sale process. FoxConn has offered more than twice as much money as WDC, and that money is what the shareholders want.

 

[eldakka]

"As a result, Toshiba transferred ownership of the joint venture assets held with _Western Digital_ into the newly formed Toshiba Memory"

That is incorrect, the joint venture assets are owned by Toshiba and Sandisk.

WDC owns Sandisk, but Sandisk still exists as an operating entity. As the quotes from WDC later in the article show, WDC itself still says "Sandisk", e.g.:
Western Digital's chief executive, Steve Milligan, said:
"Toshiba's attempt to spin out its joint venture interests into an affiliate and then sell that affiliate is explicitly prohibited without _SanDisk's_ consent."