Keep in mind; these predictions are simply open predictions based on my own personal hypothesis – nothing is written in stone of course, but as per my usual style I leave my opinions in the open.

Samsung or Hitachi should/will acquire Western Digital: I think Western Digital, being the #2 hard drive manufacturer in the world (maybe a distant number 2, but still number 2) is a prime target for acquisition. I ran the theory by Charlie from the Inquirer sometime early last year and he wrote about it without the complete explaination.  Perhaps I will expand on it later - but for now here are a few points;

I think it would benefit Samsung or Hitachi to acquire Western Digital because they could really use the brand penetration that Western Digital has garnered in the enthusiast PC space. I have written before about the “halo effect” that’s driven by the enthusiast community, so there’s no reason to explain the reason for this theory. WD is also doing pretty well in emerging markets and emerging vertical markets. As far as I understand Samsung has a goal to be #2 in the hard drive space by year end 2007 – that said the only way they can do this is to make an acquisition or grow their storage business at an unbelievable rate. By the way, I think Western Digital drives are pretty awesome and even though Seagate owns a ton of I.P. Western Digital keeps coming up with new and innovative ideas. They helped turn a commodity into a “sexy product”. It should also be noted that I own Western Digital stock, although I own it because I believe in it – and this opinion is purely based on my beliefs.

NVIDIA will not be acquired by Intel, but... Nvidia will work feverishly on a strategy to remain ahead of the curve in the mobile space. It’s unlikely that they will allow Intel to “acquire” them simply because the cultures are like fire and water. I think the *only* way and Intel + Nvidia marriage will work is if Jen-Hsun remains...

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