Samsung Electronics has sold a part of its stake in Seagate Technology, a global leader in hard drives and storage solutions, for a reported $1.51 billion, the latter said on Friday.

The value, however, is based on current stock prices of Seagate and may differ as the deal is said to be an over-the-counter transaction.

The 32.7 million shares that Samsung sold were equivalent to a 9 percent stake in Seagate. The Korean tech company previously held a 12.6 percent share but will now be left with slightly over 12 million shares worth approximately $561 million.

Steve Luczo, CEO of Seagate and the chairman of the board, said that Seagate was happy to continue cooperative relations with Samsung, who is a “long-term strategic shareholder” and “important business partner.”

He said he would continue to ask for Jeong Seh-woong’s advice and hopes for positive results from the two company’s flash memory partnership.

Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun of Samsung Electronics said it was Samsung’s main goal to “offer more benefits to clients through our partnership with Seagate,” and that he anticipates more technological solutions for cloud and mobile applications.

Luczo added that with the acquisition, Seagate said it would be able to return up to 70 percent of its next year’s cash flow to the shareholders.

Samsung Electronics had initially acquired $687.5 million worth of Seagate stocks and another $687.5 million in cash in exchange for handing over its hard disk drive unit back in 2011 as a part of its plans to focus on devices and memory chips.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)