Western Digital announced its acquisition of SanDisk Wednesday. The deal values SanDisk at $86.50 per share or approximately $19 billion in total equity.

As both companies deal with data storage and are two of the major firms in this industry, this move could help them stay on top in the future. SanDisk's joint venture with Toshiba, who is a competitor of Western Digital in the storage space, will continue after the deal closes.

Western Digital's CEO Steve Milligan is expected to remain in that role in the combined company, whose headquarters will stay in Irvine, Calif. SanDisk CEO Sanjay Mehrotra is expected to join Western Digital's board of directors when the deal closes, which is expected to occur in the third calendar quarter of 2016.

Source: Western Digital