SEATTLE, July 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global supercomputer leader Cray Inc. (Nasdaq:CRAY) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement with Seagate to complete a strategic transaction and enter into a partnership centered around the ClusterStor® high-performance storage business. As part of the partnership, Seagate and Cray will collaborate on future ClusterStor products. Cray will continue to support and enhance the ClusterStor product line and to support customers going forward. Cray expects to add more than 100 Seagate employees and contractors and to assume certain customer support obligations associated with the ClusterStor product line.
"This partnership will be an exciting next step for Cray as we broaden our portfolio and expand our ability to create a leadership position in high performance storage products,” said Peter Ungaro, president and CEO of Cray. “Building upon our long-term strategy and the amazing growth of data, storage is becoming more important in our market. With the push to exascale computing and the explosive growth in artificial intelligence, deep learning and analytics, the ability to integrate compute and storage into supercomputing systems is more critical than ever.”
“Adding Seagate’s ClusterStor product line to our DataWarp and Sonexion storage products will enable us to provide a more complete solution to customers,” continued Peter Ungaro. “Current ClusterStor customers and partners can be assured that we will continue to advance and support the ClusterStor products. In addition, I look forward to welcoming our new Cray employees along with the ClusterStor partners and reseller channel – strengthening our strategic positioning for growth into the future."
"In 2012 Cray became our first OEM and has continued over the years to be our largest and most strategic ClusterStor partner. Today’s announcement is really the perfect evolution of that continuing, special partnership in HPC," said Ken Claffey, vice president and general manager, Storage Systems Group at Seagate. "As the leader in the supercomputing market, Cray will be a great home for the ClusterStor, employees, customers and partners.”
Highlights of the transaction and partnership include:
- Seagate’s existing ClusterStor Lustre, Secure Data Appliance and Spectrum Scale customers will be able to receive service and support from Cray.
- Cray expects to add more than 100 employees, primarily in R&D, customer service and channel and reseller support.
- Cray and Seagate will collaborate to incorporate the latest Seagate technology into future ClusterStor and Cray® Sonexion® products.
- Cray will receive certain assistance from Seagate to provide support on existing service contracts.
- The transaction closing is expected to be completed late in the third quarter of 2017.
- Cray expects the net impact of the transaction for Cray to be in the range of breakeven for 2018.
- Cray will provide further detail on its second quarter 2017 financial results conference call on July 27, 2017. Instructions for joining the conference call can be found below.
Conference Call Information
Cray will host a conference call on Thursday, July 27, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. PDT (4:30 p.m. EDT) to discuss its second quarter ended June 30, 2017 financial results. To access the call, please dial into the conference at least 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call at (855) 894-4205. International callers should dial (765) 889-6838 and use the conference ID #56308197. To listen to the audio webcast, go to the Investors section of the Cray website at www.cray.com/company/investors.
About Cray Inc.
Global supercomputing leader Cray Inc. (Nasdaq:CRAY) provides innovative systems and solutions enabling scientists and engineers in industry, academia and government to meet existing and future simulation and analytics challenges. Leveraging more than 40 years of experience in developing and servicing the world’s most advanced supercomputers, Cray offers a comprehensive portfolio of supercomputers and big data storage and analytics solutions delivering unrivaled performance, efficiency and scalability. Cray’s Adaptive Supercomputing vision is focused on delivering innovative next-generation products that integrate diverse processing technologies into a unified architecture, allowing customers to meet the market’s continued demand for realized performance. Go to www.cray.com for more information.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, including, but not limited to, statements related to the expected timing and closing of the transaction with Seagate, the expected benefits of the potential transaction and partnership, the extent of the collaboration between the parties if the transaction closes, the Company's ability to expand its product offerings and drive growth and the expected financial impact of the transaction. These statements involve current expectations, forecasts of future events and other statements that are not historical facts. Inaccurate assumptions and known and unknown risks and uncertainties can affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements and cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect actual future events or results include, but are not limited to, the risk that the transaction is not closed when expected, or at all, the risk that Cray is not able to realize the expected benefits of the transaction and partnership, the risk that Cray is not able to expand and penetrate its addressable market as expected or at all, the risk that the parties do not collaborate as extensively as planned if the transaction closes, the risk that Cray does achieve the financial results from the transaction and such other risks as identified in the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, and from time to time in other reports filed by Cray with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not rely unduly on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this release. Cray undertakes no duty to publicly announce or report revisions to these statements as new information becomes available that may change the Company’s expectations.
Cray, the stylized CRAY mark and SONEXION are registered trademarks of Cray Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Cray Media:
Juliet McGinnis
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Cray Investors:
Paul Hiemstra
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ir@cray.com