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SanDisk Corporation, a worldwide provider of flash memory storage, is announcing that it has agreed to acquire SMART Storage Systems. SMART is a developer and producer of enterprise-grade SATA and SAS solid state drives (SSDs). SMART Storage Systems has been experiencing rapid growth in its own right, with approximately $25 million in revenue in the latest business quarter that ended 5/31/13. SanDisk’s acquisition of SMART will even further enhance their strong (and rapidly growing) portfolio of enterprise offerings.
SMART’s SATA and SAS enterprise SSDs feature their award-winning Guardian Technology, which is able to extend the endurance and lifespan of NAND flash memory, while increasing reliability. SanDisk has been on a rapid growth curve of its own of late, and their acquisition of SMART accelerates this growth even further. SanDisk’s existing enterprise SSD and application acceleration software product portfolios, vertical integration, scale, market reach and financial strength will be combined with SMART’s own enterprise SSD products, technology, and human talents to put SanDisk in an even stronger position to react quickly to ever-changing growth opportunities in the enterprise storage arena.
According to Sumit Sadana, executive vice president & chief strategy officer at SanDisk, “SanDisk is excited to build upon its leadership position with its fourth acquisition in the enterprise storage market. This acquisition enables SanDisk to address a $1.6 billion market opportunity in enterprise SATA products, and complements our strong SAS product portfolio. With this combination, SanDisk will have products qualified with six of the top seven storage OEMs worldwide.”
Iain MacKenzie, President and CEO of SMART Worldwide Holdings, states that “We are delighted that a global technology innovator and manufacturer of the caliber of SanDisk supports our belief in SMART Storage’s team and portfolio of next-generation enterprise SSDs.” SMART Storage System’s President John Scaramuzzo also notes that “We believe this is a strategic combination that will provide attractive benefits for our customers and our talented employees.”
SMART Storage Systems and its parent company, SMART Worldwide Holdings, have been under the purvey of Silver Lake since August of 2011. Silver Lake’s two investment funds, Silver Lake Partners and Silver Lake Sumeru provided capitalization to assist SMART’s ability to achieve its recent rapid growth in the enterprise SSD market.
Silver Lake’s Ken Hao (Managing Partner) and Ajay Shah (Founding Managing Partner Silver Lake Sumeru) provide their perspective on the deal: “We are proud of what SMART Storage has accomplished since our investment in 2011, and it has been a privilege to partner with them. We are honored to assist in accelerating growth of SMART Storage’s differentiated SSD technology and to help build the long-term, strategic value of the business. We are pleased that SanDisk shares our confidence in SMART Storage, and this transaction marks an exciting moment for both companies and a successful exit for Silver Lake.”
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, SanDisk will pay around $307 million in cash and equity-based incentive awards to absorb SMART Storage Systems The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, and is subject to certain customary closing conditions; and of course the all-important regulatory approvals. SMART Storage Systems will have approximately 250 employees join SanDisk when the transaction closes, which is expected to occur in August, 2013.
SanDisk’s press release on this important event can be viewed here. SMART’s press release announcing the acquisition is available for viewing here.