There will be no merger between Western Digital and Kioxia. The talks between the two flash memory manufacturers have finally failed.

According to Nikkei Asia, Western Digital and Kioxia together will not be the largest memory chip maker. According to the media company, the talks have been stopped completely. A few days ago things looked completely different.

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The initiative comes from Western Digital, which would also have a slim majority in the super corporation after the merger. The reason for this is that SK Hynix could not be convinced. The South Korean chip maker indirectly owns part of Kioxia.

SK Hynix’s largest shareholder is Bain Capital. This investment company does not agree to the terms of a merger, as a result of which Western Digital has now thrown in the towel. SK Hynix feared for its position and did not want to jeopardize possible further collaborations.

Corporate America could use a boost, but its numbers haven’t been good lately. Three Japanese banks were willing to arrange the merger with Kioxia. Both companies hoped to tip the scales in their favor. The merger created a strong competitor for Samsung in the flash and NAND memory sectors.

Kioxia and Western Digital are already working together on chip production, including in a Japanese factory. It is expected that this partnership will continue.