Taiwan’s Foxconn has indicated that it may pay as much as 3 trillion yen ($26.99 billion) for Toshiba Corp’s (6502.T) chip business.
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc and chipmaker Broadcom Ltd have submitted preliminary bids for the business, valued at 2 trillion yen ($17.98 billion) or more.
Toshiba, the second-biggest NAND chip producer after South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, is considering selling the majority – or all – of its marquee flash-memory chip business, as it seeks to make up for a $6.3 billion writedown from its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse.
Toshiba and Japanese government officials are planning to look for offers led by Japanese buyers, though no bids have emerged yet.
Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn, which is formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said in March the company was “definitely bidding” for Toshiba’s chip business.
The latest bid by Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. , could put the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a tough spot. Some in the government are hoping to see a Japanese company or a joint U.S.-Japan team take the prized Toshiba asset because they see the chip business as strategic. But it would be hard for financially strapped Toshiba to turn down extra cash if Foxconn has the highest bid.
By Baishakhi Dutta
