Western Digital is in advanced talks for a potential $20 billion stock merger with Japanese semiconductor firm Kioxia Holdings, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters: The companies could reach an agreement as early as mid-September, and Western Digital Chief Executive Officer David Goeckeler would run the combined firm, the report said. The news sent Western Digital’s shares up as much as 15% in afternoon trading to a market cap of $21.45 billion. Kioxia Holdings, the world’s second-largest maker of flash memory chips, last year shelved plans for what would have been Japan’s largest initial public offering in 2020. In June, however, financial magazine Diamond said the company was planning an IPO as early as September.
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