Thin film heads are suddenly becoming a hot property and following the move by Komag Inc to acquire Dastek Inc (CI No 1,803) and Read-Rite Corp buying Conner Peripherals Inc’s head stack assembly business in the Far East, Read-Rite is buying again to strengthen its position as the market leader. This time, the San Jose company is taking over the head stack assembly operation, including a year-old, 140,000 square foot facility in Penang, Malaysia of Maxtor Corp. The operation employs about 1,100 making head stack assemblies for Maxtor’s Singapore factories for high-capacity 5.25 and 3.5 Winchesters, and Read-Rite has agreed to pay the less-than-bubbling Maxtor $17m for the operation, a $6m premium on book value, and Maxtor signed a three-year supply agreement for the stacks.
