Seagate Technology, Inc. has been the world's leading independent manufacturer of rigid magnetic disks and disk drives for computers since the 1980s. The company pioneered the downsizing of mainframe hard disk drives, making them affordable for personal computers. In the 1990s the company expanded into software and presently is the leading provider of technology and products that enable computers to store, access, and manage information, including disk drives, magnetic disks and heads, tape drives, and software. In 2000 Seagate was transitioning from public to private ownership, due to a complex $2 billion buyout.