Reuters exclusively reported that Western Digital and Japan’s Kioxia Holdings are speeding up their merger talks and now nailing down a deal structure as a slumping flash memory market has put fresh consolidation pressure on the world’s no.2 and no.4 chipmakers. Under the plan now being worked out, the merged entity would be 43% owned by Kioxia, 37% by Western digital and the rest by existing shareholders of the companies, Reuters reported. Shares of Western Digital rose more than 11% following the Reuters report.