Toshiba quits race to take over Elpida

TOKYO: Toshiba Corp has dropped out of the bidding for Japan’s Elpida Memory, leaving three foreign firms including SK hynix and Micron Technology in the race to take over the bankrupt memory-chip maker, Japanese media reported.

Toshiba’s withdrawal would set the stage for this year’s second foreign rescue in Japan’s once-mighty technology sector after Taiwan’s Hon Hai last month took a stake in loss-making Sharp Corp and bought about half of its flagship factory.

Japan’s Asahi and Mainichi newspapers said that Toshiba, seen as the preferred partner for Elpida by Japan’s government, was no longer bidding. The Asahi said a foreign investment fund was also bidding, but did not identify the firm.

The newspapers did not give a reason nor did they cite a source for their information. Officials at Toshiba and Elpida declined to comment.

South Korea’s SK hynix said on Friday it had made a preliminary bid for Elpida, which in February filed for protection from creditors with 448 billion yen (Us$5.4bil) in debt. Sources said Toshiba and Us-based Micron also planned to enter the fray.

Elpida is the world’s No. 3 maker of DRAM chips. It had about a 12% market share in the July–september quarter, behind Samsung Electronics’ 45% and SK hynix’s 22%, according to market research firm IHS isuppli.