SanDisk on Monday announced intentions to purchase Fusion-io Inc. for $1.1 billion in cash, agreeing to pay $11.25 per share for all shares outstanding - a premium of 21 percent over Friday's closing price. The company will fund the purchase through its balance sheet according to a press release on the matter.

The acquisition will assist the storage maker in targeting the enterprise, or what CEO Sanjay Mehrotra calls the flash-transformed datacenter. Specifically, SanDisk wants to get in early on the movement to replace traditional datacenter storage with speedier flash-based solutions that offer a lower total cost of ownership.

Fusion-io chairman and CEO Shane Robison said their innovative hardware and software solutions will be augmented by SanDisk's worldwide scale and vertical integration, enabling a combined company that can offer an even more compelling value proposition for customers and partners.

As ZDNet points out, this is a solid deal for both parties that could set off a chain-reaction of similar deals in the industry. In this instance, SanDisk purchased a company that has good technology but has had trouble executing thus far.

Shares in SanDisk are up around 2.35 percent on the news as of writing.

The acquisition is expected to close during the company's fiscal third quarter pending regulatory approval. Both companies' boards of directors have already approved the purchase. The deal will add to SanDisk's adjusted profit in the second half of 2015, we're told.