Kioxia, Western Digital speed up merger talks as memory chip demand slumps   

Reuters exclusively reported that Western Digital and Japan’s Kioxia Holdings are speeding up their merger talks and now nailing down a deal structure as a slumping flash memory market has put fresh consolidation pressure on the world’s no.2 and no.4 chipmakers. Under the plan now being worked out, the merged entity would be 43% owned by Kioxia, 37% by Western digital and the rest by existing shareholders of the companies, Reuters reported. Shares of Western Digital rose more than 11% following the Reuters report.