UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D. C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K


        CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES
                            AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


                         Commission File Number 0-16852

                          Date of Report: April 9, 1999



                               KOMAG, INCORPORATED
                                  (Registrant)









                      Incorporated in the State of Delaware
                I.R.S. Employer Identification Number 94-2914864
               1704 Automation Parkway, San Jose, California 95131
                            Telephone: (408) 576-2000




ITEM 5:  OTHER EVENTS

The Company issued the following press release on April 9, 1999:

                  KOMAG AND WESTERN DIGITAL COMPLETE STRATEGIC
                                   TRANSACTION
                          FOR DISK MEDIA MANUFACTURING


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

San Jose, California (April 9,1999):  Komag,  Incorporated  (Nasdaq:  KMAG), the
world's largest  independent  supplier of thin-film media for computer hard disk
drives,  today  announced  that the company has  completed  the  acquisition  of
Western Digital Corporation's (NYSE: WDC) disk media operations. The company and
Western Digital also signed a volume  purchase  agreement under which Komag will
supply a  substantial  portion of Western  Digital's  media  needs over the next
three years. The parties previously  disclosed the signing of a letter of intent
regarding this  transaction  in a joint press release on  February17,  1999. The
company also provided an update on negotiations with its bank lenders.

Acquisition Summary:

Komag  purchased the assets of Western  Digital's media  operations  through the
issuance of  approximately  10.8 million shares of Komag common stock, a note in
the principal amount of $30.1 million,  and cash  consideration of $1.6 million.
The  shares  issued  in  the  transaction,  which  represent  16.7%  of  Komag's
outstanding  shares on a post-issuance  basis,  are  unregistered and subject to
trading  restrictions.  Western  Digital may resell  these  shares in  specified
increments  over a three and  one-half  year period  under  registration  rights
granted  by the  company or under SEC rules  after  expiration  of the  required
holding  periods.  Principal  and interest  accrued on the note are due in three
years and the note is subordinated to the company's senior credit facilities. In
the event that Western Digital realizes a return on its Komag equity holdings in
excess of a targeted  amount  within three years,  the excess amount will reduce
the balance due under the note. Komag also assumed certain  liabilities,  mainly
equipment and building leases, as part of the transaction.

"The transaction with Western Digital is of strategic  importance to our company
and  reflects  the  type  of  partnership  which  we  expect  will  become  more
commonplace in our technically  demanding and cost competitive  industry.  Given
the  continuing  excess  supply of disk  media,  the volume  purchase  agreement
secures  significant  unit volumes for Komag over the next three  years.  In our
industry,  suppliers  must  lower  production  costs  relentlessly  to  maintain
profitability  in  light  of  aggressive   industry  pricing  and  must  advance
technology  rapidly to support the industry's shorter product cycles. The higher



unit volumes  anticipated  under our partnership with Western Digital will allow
us to spread fixed  manufacturing  costs over more units, thus lowering our unit
production costs. The larger revenue base will support our significant  on-going
commitment  to  research  and  development  and reduce  operating  expenses as a
percentage of revenue," said Stephen C. Johnson,  president and chief  executive
officer of Komag,  Incorporated.

Market conditions and overlapping  functional  organizations prompted reductions
in the staffing levels at both media  operations.  As part of the  consolidation
effort Komag extended job offers to approximately  50% of Western Digital's disk
media work force.  Concurrently,  Komag  reduced the work force at its  existing
U.S.   operation  by  approximately   8%.  Production  will  be  slowed  in  the
consolidated  organization by idling certain  production lines during a two-week
period in April.  During this time the company  will focus on employee  training
and operational integration activities.

"The demand for disk drives has recently softened due to a  slower-than-expected
growth rate for personal  computers.  The ability of disk media manufacturers to
accommodate  more  storage  density  on a given  disk  has  further  slowed  the
consumption  rate for magnetic disk media.  Due to demand  expectations  for our
second  quarter of 1999,  we have taken a series of actions to properly  balance
inventory levels and minimize operating costs in the combined  operations," said
Johnson.

Bank Negotiations:

The company and the Agents for the Bank Groups have  recently  been  negotiating
covenant  levels that  incorporate  the  combined  media  operations  of Western
Digital  and Komag.  The credit  committee  of each bank  lender must now decide
whether to approve the proposed  covenant  levels and other terms and conditions
of the loan restructure  agreement.  If approved, the loan restructure agreement
would be subject to final documentation and execution. The execution of the loan
restructure  agreement  would cure the  company's  continuing  default under its
existing credit facilities.

Forward-Looking Statements:

The above information contains predictions,  estimates and other forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  While this outlook
represents  Komag's  current  judgment on the future  direction of the business,
actual  results  may differ  materially  from any future  performance  suggested
above.  In particular,  the additional  unit volumes  attributable to the volume
purchase  agreement  with  Western  Digital  could fall below  expected  levels.
Additionally, the positive long-term benefits anticipated from the consolidation
of the media  operations  of  Western  Digital  and  Komag may not be  realized.
Furthermore,   costs  for  near-term  consolidation  actions  could  exceed  the
company's current expectations, thus adversely affecting the company's operating
results and cash flow. Moreover,  there can be no assurance that the company and
its lenders  will reach  agreement  on an amended  credit  facility.  Other risk
factors that may affect the company's  financial  performance  are listed in the
company's  various  SEC  filings,  including  its Form  10-K for the year  ended
January 3, 1999  which was filed on





April 2, 1999.  The company  undertakes no  obligation  to publicly  release any
revisions to these forward-looking statements.

About Komag:

Founded in 1983,  Komag,  Incorporated  has produced over 380 million  thin-film
disks, the primary storage medium for digital data used in computer disk drives.
The company is well-positioned  as the broad-based  strategic supplier of choice
for  the  industry's  leading  disk  drive  manufacturers.  Through  its  highly
automated  factories  in the United  States,  Japan and  Southeast  Asia,  Komag
provides  high  quality,  leading-edge  disk  products at a low overall  cost of
ownership.  These  attributes  enable  Komag to partner  with  customers  in the
execution  of  their  time-to-market  design  and  time-to-volume  manufacturing
strategies.

For  more  information  about  Komag,   visit  Komag's  Internet  home  page  at
http://www.komag.com or call Komag's Investor Relations 24-hour Hot Line at
888-66-KOMAG or 408-576-2901.

Contact:          KOMAG, INCORPORATED, San Jose, CA
                  William L. Potts, Jr.
                  (408) 576-2000 or (408) 576-2053
                  ir_web@komag.com for E-mail communications









                                   SIGNATURES


Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned,  thereunto  duly  authorized,  in the  City of San  Jose,  State of
California, on April 16, 1999.




                               KOMAG, INCORPORATED
                                  (Registrant)









 DATE:  April 16, 1999                      BY:  /s/ William L. Potts, Jr.  
        --------------                           -------------------------
                                                 William L. Potts, Jr.
                                                 Senior Vice President 
                                                 and Chief Financial
                                                 Officer