Hard drive maker Western Digital said it would buy Virident Systems Inc, a maker of flash memory for servers, for $685 million in cash. Virident solutions enable enterprises to tackle performance-intensive datacenter applications with PCIe-based enterprise flash storage solutions for virtualization, database, cloud computing, and webscale applications. Virident's FlashMAX II can be installed in any server and provides the highest capacity in a single low-profile card. In addition, the company's FlashMAX Connect is the first software suite to deliver a shared server-side flash storage tier with enterprise-class reliability.

The pending acquisition extends HGST's presence in enterprise SSDs, and further enhances the value of HGST (owned subsidiary of Western Digital) solutions through Virident's intelligent storage software. The integration with HGST will enable Virident to accelerate its go-to-market efforts by leveraging HGST's strong brand, channel relationships, and global customer reach.

Western Digital has been trying to expand its presence in the solid state, or flash storage, market with its recent acquisitions. In June, the company bought solid-state drive (SSD) maker Stec Inc to become one of the top players in the high-growth industry.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2013.