Seagate buys Samsung division

Seagate Technology is to buy Samsung Electronics's loss-making hard-disk-drive (HDD) business for $1.4bn (£858m) as the US group looks to combat rival Western Digital Corp and arrest price wars that have damaged the industry.

The deal comes a month after Western Digital sought to buy the HDD unit of Hitachi Ltd – a known price aggressor – for $4.3bn, to create a global leader with deep resources.

It is yet to be seen whether Western Digital trumps Seagate as the world's largest hard-drive maker after the deals conclude. In 2010, Seagate's sales were $11.4bn while Western Digital posted revenues of $9.85 bn. Toshiba and Fujitsu are the other smaller players in the hard-drive sector.