- Seagate is ready to buy intevac, a specialist in the production of Hamr Drive
- HAMR is seen as technology that will boost HDD at 100TB+
- The measure is a hard blow for the HAMR plans of Western Digital and Toshiba
Seagate is charging ahead in his search to produce large HDD. By the end of January 2025, the world’s largest hard drive supplier introduced a 36 TB model, which arrived only one month after one of 32 TB debuted, and revealed at that time that a 60 TB unit is in path.
Now, the firm has announced plans to acquire intevac, a company known for manufacturing spraying systems that apply layers of ultra thin material, such as an iron-platering alloy (FEPT), at HDD plates. This advanced deposition process allows the creation of magnetic layers with greater uniformity, improved signal / noise relationships and less defects, which could result in a densest data storage. More than 65% of the world’s hard drive is produced using intevac systems, which works with more than 50 million records per month. Technology is considered essential for perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) and heat -assisted magnetic recording (HAMR).
HAMR, which reduces magnetic resistance when heating the disc, allows the data to be written in smaller and stable bits and probably are a key factor in HDDs that reach 100 TB capabilities. When buying intevac, Seagate has potentially obtained a great victory over his rivals. Seagate is the main intevac client, but Western Digital is also one too, and together with Toshiba, he has HAMR units in process.
Unanimously approved
The final agreement will make Seagate acquire intevac in a cash transaction for $ 4 per share. Intevac will also pay a unique special dividend of $ 0.052 per share (which provides aggregate consideration to intevac shareholders to $ 4,052 per share). Separately, the Board of Directors of Intevac has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $ 0.05 per share, which will be paid on March 13, 2025 to Intevac shareholders.
As a result of the movement, Intevac will no longer celebrate its gain call, which had been established for February 25.
The Board of Directors of Intevac has unanimously approved (and, as expected) the transaction and recommended that all shareholders present their actions in the offer.
The acquisition is expected to close at the end of March or the beginning of April 2025, although, as Blocks and files He points out: “Western Digital or Resonac [which counts Toshiba as a customer] Or both could object to the agreement for a reduced competition terrain, which could delay its completion or even prevent the transaction from taking place. ”
It is unlikely, of course, Seagate would not have advanced with the acquisition if his lawyers anticipate problems of that magnitude.
Seagate will be able to increase the production of HAMR Drive after the acquisition, but the movement could hinder the efforts of Western Digital and Toshiba in that department, since it would mean buying the spray tools that need Seagate, an important rival.
