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Samsung makes $5.85 billion bid for SanDisk
Flash-memory firm rejects offer, says it 'does not provide appropriate value'
By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:19 p.m. EDT Sept. 16, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Samsung Electronics said late Tuesday that it has offered to acquire SanDisk Corp. for about $5.85 billion, capping several days of speculation about a potential combination of the two companies.
In a letter to SanDisk, Samsung said it was reiterating a previous offer to buy the company for $26 per share in cash, in a deal that would not be contingent to financing arrangements.
But SanDisk rejected the deal in its own statement Tuesday.
SanDisk Chief Executive Eli Harari said that Samsung's acquisition offer "does not provide appropriate value to our stockholders and is opportunistically timed at the trough of an industry-wide downturn."
Samsung had said in its letter that it's "deeply disappointed" that SanDisk "continues to cling to unrealistic expectations on both its standalone market value and an appropriate merger price." The letter said the two companies have been in talks for the past four months.
Shares of SanDisk surged more than 50% in after-hours trading on Tuesday, to $22.85. The stock had closed the regular session up 4.4% at $15.04.