It is getting hot over in SanDisk's boardroom. After negotiations between them and Samsung failed to produce any meaningful results, Samsung issued a hostile takeover bid for the company. That offer was outright rejected, with SanDisk claiming that Samsung is simply being opportunistic and trying to take advantage of low stock prices due to a weak economy. They claim that Samsung is undervaluing what they are really worth.
True or not, Samsung has reiterated their offer and claims that SanDisk's primary market, NAND flash, will take a long time to recover. So long, in fact, that they claim it won't be possible for SanDisk to afford research and development over this time.
We first started hearing about this a little over a month ago, starting when it was rumored that Seagate was interested in a SanDisk buyout or merger. Later it became obvious that it was Samsung who was chasing the company, prompting the hostile bid issued just recently.
These kinds of deals are known to fall apart, but if that is the case it rarely would be a good thing for the smaller of the two, in this case SanDisk. It looks like SanDisk may be facing either a buyout or serious setback.