With Maxtor being under financial pressure over the past couple of years due to a string of quarterly losses and manufacturing problems which resulted in having to shut down production for a short interval earlier this year, it was only a matter of time before it was snapped up by one of its competitors. It happened today, as hard drive manufacturer Seagate has agreed to purchase its rival Maxtor for US$1.9 billion.
How long Western Digital will be able to hold out against the combined forces of Seagate and Maxtor? As of the second quarter of 2005, Western Digital was in the #2 position with 17.6 percent of the global market for hard drives. Seagate was #1 with 30.5 percent with Maxtor coming in fourth place with 13.5 percent. With the new, larger Seagate poised to control nearly half of the global drive market, how long will it be before some of the other, smaller players join forces?
I came across this one pretty late, I know. Read the full article at ArsTechnica.