SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Samsung Electronics (“Samsung”) announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of SanDisk Corporation (“SanDisk”) for $26 per share in cash.

The withdrawal was announced to SanDisk’s board of directors in a letter addressed to Eli Harari, chairman and CEO, and Irwin Federman, vice chairman and lead independent director, SanDisk
  
Yoon Woo Lee, vice chairman & CEO, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. said: "After nearly six months of efforts to pursue a transaction with no meaningful progress, we are withdrawing our proposal to acquire SanDisk. I am disappointed that we have been unable to reach an agreement on our proposal.  I continue to believe that a combination of our two companies would have created a superior global brand, an unparalleled technology platform and the scale and resources to drive convergence in the marketplace.

"Had we been able to execute on our proposal, your shareholders would have received full, fair and certain value for their shares and your employees and other stakeholders would have benefited from a broader platform and a wider range of opportunities," Lee further added.  

"Nevertheless, we have obligations to our own shareholders which require that we take a disciplined approach, particularly with respect to significant initiatives such as this. That disciplined approach requires that we squarely face the growing uncertainties in your business, which may continue to deteriorate in this difficult economic environment and further impact your standalone value."

"SanDisk recently announced third quarter results serve only to illustrate this risk. SaDisk's surprise announcements of a quarter billion dollar operating loss, a hurried renegotiation of your relationship with Toshiba and major job losses across the company, all point to a considerable increase in SanDisk's risk profile and a material deterioration in value, both on a stand-alone basis as well as to Samsung."

"As a result of these developments, we are no longer interested in acquiring SanDisk at $26/share. While Samsung regrets that we were unable to work together to achieve a business combination that would have created new opportunities for all of us, we wish you the best in meeting the challenges ahead.," Lee said. 

Source:  Business Wire