* S.Korea’s SK hynix, US-based Micron still bidding-source
* Foreign investment fund also bidding – report
* Unclear why Toshiba no longer in running – source
* Paves way for another foreign rescue in Japan tech sector
* Bidders likely eyeing Elpida’s mobile DRAM-analysts
By Maki Shiraki
TOKYO, April 5 (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp is out of
the bidding for Japan’s Elpida Memory, leaving foreign firms
including SK hynix and Micron Technology in
the race to take over the bankrupt memory-chip maker.
That sets the stage for this year’s second foreign rescue in
Japan’s once-mighty technology sector after Taiwan’s Hon Hai
Precision last month took a stake in loss-making Sharp
Corp and bought about half of its flagship factory.
Toshiba made a preliminary bid but is no longer a candidate,
an industry source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. It
is still unclear why Toshiba, which had been seen as the
preferred partner for Elpida by Japan’s government, is no longer
in the running, the source said.
Another source said South Korea’s SK hynix and U.S.-based
Micron were still candidates.
Japan’s Asahi newspaper also said a foreign investment fund
was bidding, but did not identify the firm or say where it got
its information.
Officials at Toshiba and Elpida declined to comment.
SK hynix said last Friday it had made a preliminary bid for
Elpida, which in February filed for protection from creditors
with 448 billion yen ($5.4 billion) in debt. Sources said Micron
was also entering the fray.
Sources had told Reuters that Toshiba was considering
joining the bidding to take on Samsung Electronics Co
, the world’s top maker of DRAMs.
But Toshiba was reluctant to take on all of Elpida’s assets
and was interested in making a joint bid with another company,
in a move that would make it easier to gain government-backed
funding and help cushion the risk, the sources said.
Analysts have said the bidders are likely interested in
Elpida’s DRAM chips for smartphones and tablets, but not for PCs
where demand is falling as consumers increasingly shift towards
mobile devices.
The outcome of the bidding is expected as early as next
month.
Elpida is the world’s No.3 maker of dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) chips. It had about a 12 percent market share in
the July-September quarter, behind Samsung Electronics’ 45
percent and SK hynix’s 22 percent, according to market research
firm IHS iSuppli.
Shares of Toshiba were flat at 347 yen, compared with a 1
percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average.
