Storage giant EMC will take a $100m hit in its fourth quarter as it rejigs its international ownership structure.

The vendor is transferring certain assets of its RSA and Data Domain entities and legacy foreign corporations into a single EMC international holding company. The international subsidiaries acquired in connection with EMC’s acquisitions of RSA and Data Domain will be combined with its existing foreign companies

EMC said the move would bolster its international expansion plans, reduce costs and improve efficiency.

However, it will also result in a charge of about $100m and EMC has consequently slashed its profit forecast for its current quarter.

It now expects consolidated GAAP diluted earnings per share to come in at $0.16, lower than its previous estimate of $0.21.

The rejig is part of a wider cost reduction programme that EMC expects to generate savings of $500m in 2010, compared with 2008.