SanDisk公司近日有大動作，以約3.27億美元的現(xiàn)金和一些其他誘因，收購了企業(yè)級固態(tài)硬盤（SSD）開發(fā)商Pliant Technology。 Pliant目前主營基于SAS協(xié)議的企業(yè)級存儲固態(tài)硬盤。該公司的產品藍圖（Roadmap）還包括用于高性能計算機服務器、基于PCIe的解決方案。 這項交易已經得到這兩家公司董事會的批準，正進入例定成交條件（customary closing conditions）審核程序、包括監(jiān)管審查和批準，預計該交易將在SanDisk公司第二財季結束時完成。 SanDisk預計，該交易將把其2011財年的非GAAP盈利沖減2%到3%，而在2012財年則會增加其非GAAP的收入。 此舉將強化SanDisk的SSD業(yè)務的份量?！癝anDisk業(yè)已在pSSD產品線上取得相當大的成功，但尚未在客戶SSD領域有斬獲，”Forward Insights的分析師Gregory Wong說。 “收購Pliant是SanDisk在其專注于企業(yè)和數據中心環(huán)境客戶之外的更上層樓。給企業(yè)SSD市場機會（2015年的50億美元）錦上添花的前提是：隨著NAND閃存升級到更精微節(jié)點、高級ECC、閃存管理、算法以及對閃存內部工作機制的深度了解等將提供有競爭力的優(yōu)勢，特別是相對于獨立、非垂直整合的SSD公司，”Wong說。 “企業(yè)級應用是固態(tài)硬盤接受度最高的唯一領域。直到今天，SanDisk在該市場還沒有建樹，”O(jiān)bjective-Analysis的分析師Jim Handy說?！皩anDisk來說，這次收購真是明智之舉。收購也給Pliant注入了強大活力，為他們在市場上大展拳腳提供了強大的靠山。” Pliant與一些OEM有牢固的合作關系，包括戴爾、LSI和Teradata。在2009年，Pliant宣布，在其得到的第C輪風險投資中，共募集到1,500萬美元。投資者包括：Menlo Ventures、Lightspeed Venture Partners、Arcturus Capital和 Divergent Ventures。 去年，Pliant宣布，它推出了兩款新的MLC（多級單元）NAND閃存存儲設備以擴展其Lightning產品線。今年三月，位于加利福尼亞州Milpitas的Pliant宣布了CEO Amyl Ahola退休的消息，但他仍留在公司董事會。同時，該公司任命Richard Wilmer為新的首席執(zhí)行官。在來Pliant之前，Wilmer擔任Santur的首席運營官兼執(zhí)行首席財務官，他之前曾作為Santur 的全球業(yè)務副總裁。 位于Milpitas的SanDisk公司近日公布了截止于2011年4月3日的第一財季業(yè)績報告。其第一財季總營收為12.9億美元，同比增長了19%；環(huán)比下降了3%。按照美國公認會計準則（GAAP）規(guī)定的算法，其第一財季凈收入為2.24億美元（或每股攤薄后，收益0.92美元）；而2010年第一財季凈收入為2.35億美元（或每股攤薄后，收益0.99美元）；而2010年第四財季凈收入為4.85億美元（或每股攤薄后，收益2.01美元）。 SanDisk和東芝公司最近還聯(lián)合發(fā)布了一款采用19nm（世界最先進的NAND工藝技術節(jié)點）技術、基于64Gb、2位/每核（X2）的單芯片閃存。 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載 參考英文原文：Update: SanDisk buys SSD firm，by Mark LaPedus

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{pagination} Update: SanDisk buys SSD firm Mark LaPedus 5/16/2011 12:52 PM EDT SAN JOSE, Calif. - SanDisk Corp. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Pliant Technology Inc., a developer of enterprise solid state drives (SSD), for approximately $327 million in cash and other incentives. Pliant currently sells SSDs based on the SAS protocol for enterprise storage customers. The company’s product roadmap also includes PCIe-based solutions for high-performance compute servers. The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory review and approval, and it is expected to close by the end of SanDisk’s second fiscal quarter. SanDisk expects the transaction to be dilutive to its non-GAAP earnings by 2 percent to 3 percent in fiscal year 2011 and accretive to non-GAAP earnings in fiscal year 2012. The move will expand SanDisk's SSD efforts. ''SanDisk has been fairly successful with their pSSD line but have yet to gain traction in client SSDs,'' said Gregory Wong, an analyst with Forward Insights. ''The Pliant acquisition is a departure from their consumer focus into the enterprise and data center environment. In addition to the enterprise SSD market opportunity - $5 billion in 2015 - the premise is that as NAND flash scales to smaller process nodes, advanced ECC, flash management, algorithms and in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of flash will provide a competitive advantage, particularly against independent, non-vertically integrated SSD companies,'' Wong said. ''The enterprise is the only place where SSDs are meeting with strong acceptance. Until today SanDisk was doing nothing to participate in this market,'' added Jim Handy, an analyst with Objective-Analysis. ''This is a really good move for SanDisk, and gives Pliant a lot of strength and backing that they can use as they establish themselves in the market.'' Pliant has secured several OEM partnerships, including Dell, LSI and Teradata. In 2009, Pliant announced that it had received $15 million in Series C funding. Investors included Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Arcturus Capital, and Divergent Ventures Last year, Pliant announced the expansion of its Lightning product line with two new MLC (multi-level cell) NAND flash storage devices. In March, Milpitas, Calif.-based Pliant announced the retirement of chief executive officer Amyl Ahola, who remained on the company’s board. At the time, the company named Richard Wilmer as the new chief executive. Prior to Pliant, Wilmer served as COO and acting CFO for Santur Corp. and previously as its vice president of global operations. Milpitas-based SanDisk recently announced results for the first fiscal quarter ending April 3, 2011. Total first quarter revenue of $1.29 billion increased 19 percent on a year-over-year basis and decreased 3 percent on a sequential basis. First quarter net income, in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), was $224 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, compared to net income of $235 million, or $0.99 per diluted share in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 and $485 million, or $2.01 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. SanDisk and Toshiba Corp. recently announced a 64-gigabit (Gb), 2-bits-per-cell (X2) based monolithic chip made on 19-nm technology, the most advanced NAND process technology node in the world.