History (1996): Conner Acquired By Seagate

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1996: Conner acquired by Seagate
Failure of a leading HDD Company

Why it’s important
Conner the early market leader in 3.5-inch HDDs and at one time the world’s fastest growing industrial company suffered several product failures leading to its acquisition by Seagate in 1996.

Discussion
Conner Peripherals shipped its first product in 1987 and as a consequence of its success in the 3.5-inch hard disk drive market was by 1990 the fastest growing company in the history of US commerce The company began experiencing financial difficulties in 1991.

In September 1992, Finis Conner hired Tom Mitchell to run the company, with whom he had worked at Seagate.

In 1995, discussing the proposed acquisition by Seagate, Finis Conner stated to financial analysts that the companies only chance to manage supply constraints during a massive component shortage was to join forces with competitor Seagate.

The Conner designed high end drives were phased out, and Conner’s San Jose facility taken over by a Seagate 2.5-inch drive team, which was largely unsuccessful, and Seagate abandoned the facilities.

The Conner headquarters is now occupied by SEMI, the semiconductor trade association.