Western Digital to Sell Assets of SANavigator Subsidiary to McDATA .

Western Digital Corp. today announced that it has agreed to sell the assets of its SANavigator Inc. subsidiary, a storage area network management (SAN) software vendor, to McDATA Corp. for $29.75 million in cash. Western Digital and McDATA have signed a definitive agreement and the transaction is expected to close in September, subject to customary closing conditions.

Matt Massengill, president and CEO of Western Digital, said, “While maintaining a lean operating model suited for the rigors of our core hard drive business, Western Digital remains committed to building business opportunities beyond the traditional desktop PC market by maximizing our core competencies. A good example of this would be our personal video recorder software expertise through Keen Personal Media. In the case of SANavigator, we were successful in developing a startup company with a strong set of SAN software capabilities, which McDATA is now best suited to nourish given its significant position in the SAN market and the rapid changes the SAN industry is undergoing.”

“With the acquisition of SANavigator, McDATA takes a clear leadership position as the only company offering storage network management software that provides visibility and discovery in a multi-vendor fabric environment,” said Jack McDonnell, CEO, McDATA. “The acquisition of SANavigator, which will operate as an independent subsidiary, underscores our commitment to interoperability. The acquisition complements our existing software products and technology, provides us with assets that expand our leadership in the emerging open storage network software market, and accelerates our time to market with totally integrated fabric management software solutions.”