News Releases

12/05/2011

Schedule for Transfer of Hitachi’s Hard Disk Drive Business to Western Digital (update)

Tokyo, Japan, December 5, 2011 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE:6501) today announced a change in the schedule for transfer of Hitachi’s hard disk drive business to Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC, “WD”), following WD’s announcement issued on December 1, 2011. WD now expects to close the transaction by March 2012 subject to the completion of obtaining approvals from European Commission and other regulatory authorities, according to the announcement by WD. It had previously been announced that the transaction was expected to close in the quarter ending December 2011(*1).

On March 7, 2011, Hitachi and WD entered into a definitive agreement to transfer all shares of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies’ holding company, Viviti Technologies Ltd. to WD, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals(*2).

*1　In May 2011, Hitachi announced that Hitachi and WD expected to close the transaction in the quarter ending December 2011 due to the European Commission’s determination to enter a Phase II review of the transaction. Please see “Schedule for Transfer of Hitachi’s Hard Disk Drive Business to Western Digital” (dated May 31, 2011).

http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/f_110531b.pdf

*2　“Hitachi Transfers Hard Disk Drive Business to Western Digital” (dated March 7, 2011)

http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/f_110307a.pdf

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2010 (ended March 31, 2011) consolidated revenues totaled 9,315 billion yen ($112.2 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

Cautionary Statement

Certain statements found in this document may constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such “forward-looking statements” reflect management’s current views with respect to certain future events and financial performance and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “intend,” “plan,” “project” and similar expressions which indicate future events and trends may identify “forward-looking statements.” Such statements are based on currently available information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the “forward-looking statements” and from historical trends. Certain “forward-looking statements” are based upon current assumptions of future events which may not prove to be accurate. Undue reliance should not be placed on “forward-looking statements,” as such statements speak only as of the date of this document.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in any “forward-looking statement” and from historical trends include, but are not limited to:

• economic conditions, including consumer spending and plant and equipment investment in Hitachi’s major markets, particularly Japan, Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as levels of demand in the major industrial sectors Hitachi serves, including, without limitation, the information, electronics, automotive, construction and financial sectors;

• exchange rate fluctuations of the yen against other currencies in which Hitachi makes significant sales or in which Hitachi’s assets and liabilities are denominated, particularly against the U.S. dollar and the euro;

• uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to access, or access on favorable terms, liquidity or long-term financing;

• uncertainty as to general market price levels for equity securities in Japan, declines in which may require Hitachi to write down equity securities that it holds;

• the potential for significant losses on Hitachi’s investments in equity method affiliates;

• increased commoditization of information technology products and digital media-related products and intensifying price competition for such products, particularly in the Components & Devices and the Digital Media & Consumer Products segments;

• uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to continue to develop and market products that incorporate new technologies on a timely and cost-effective basis and to achieve market acceptance for such products;

• rapid technological innovation;

• the possibility of cost fluctuations during the lifetime of, or cancellation of, long-term contracts for which Hitachi uses the percentage-of-completion method to recognize revenue from sales;

• fluctuations in the price of raw materials including, without limitation, petroleum and other materials, such as copper, steel, aluminum, synthetic resins, rare metals and rare-earth minerals, or shortages of materials, parts and components;

• fluctuations in product demand and industry capacity;

• uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to implement measures to reduce the potential negative impact of fluctuations in product demand, exchange rates and/or price of raw materials or shortages of materials, parts and components;

• uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of its strategy to strengthen its Social Innovation Business;

• uncertainty as to the success of restructuring efforts to improve management efficiency by divesting or otherwise exiting underperforming businesses and to strengthen competitiveness and other cost reduction measures;

• general socioeconomic and political conditions and the regulatory and trade environment of countries where Hitachi conducts business, particularly Japan, Asia, the United States and Europe, including, without limitation, direct or indirect restrictions by other nations on imports and differences in commercial and business customs including, without limitation, contract terms and conditions and labor relations;

• uncertainty as to the success of alliances upon which Hitachi depends, some of which Hitachi may not control, with other corporations in the design and development of certain key products;

• uncertainty as to Hitachi’s access to, or ability to protect, certain intellectual property rights, particularly those related to electronics and data processing technologies;

• uncertainty as to the outcome of litigation, regulatory investigations and other legal proceedings of which the Company, its subsidiaries or its equity method affiliates have become or may become parties;

• the possibility of incurring expenses resulting from any defects in products or services of Hitachi;

• the possibility of disruption of Hitachi’s operations in Japan by earthquakes, tsunamis or other natural disasters, including the possibility of continuing adverse effects on Hitachi’s operations as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011;

• uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to maintain the integrity of its information systems, as well as Hitachi’s ability to protect its confidential information or that of its customers;

• uncertainty as to the accuracy of key assumptions Hitachi uses to evaluate its significant employee benefit-related costs; and

• uncertainty as to Hitachi’s ability to attract and retain skilled personnel.

The factors listed above are not all-inclusive and are in addition to other factors contained in Hitachi’s periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in other materials published by Hitachi.