Samsung shelves SanDisk bid

Consumer electronics giant sparks a war of words by canning $5.85bn bid for flash memory firm

Samsung Electronics has shelved its $5.85bn (£3.6bn) bid for flash memory vendor SanDisk, ending a six-month dialogue between the two firms.

Samsung said its decision to withdraw its $26 a share offer was due to “growing uncertainties in SanDisk’s business, its stand alone value, and the current difficult economic environment”.

“Although Samsung Electronics had made efforts to pursue an acquisition
with SanDisk Corporation for last six months, both parties have not been
able to reach an agreement,” it added in a statement.

SanDisk immediately hit back, stressing it had been open to further talks and questioning Samsung’s motivations.

It said in a statement: “We repeatedly outlined a clear path to hold further discussions, including most recently in our letter on 15 September, and Samsung consistently chose to ignore that path and, in fact, never contacted SanDisk regarding their proposal after we delivered our letter. We believe this raises questions about the real motivations behind Samsung's offer.”

SanDisk’s share price tanked 32 per cent on the news.