‘TSMC drops out of bids on Toshiba’s nand production’

TSMC is no longer participating in the bidding war for a stake in Toshiba’s nand production, Taiwanese media report. The manufacturer would have come to the conclusion that the American bidders, such as Apple, Google, Micron and Amazon, have a better chance.

With TSMC out of the fight over its stake in Toshiba Memory, Foxconn Electronics, or Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the last remaining Taiwanese party to the bid, Digitimes reports, citing sources within Taiwan’s tech industry. In addition to realizing that it had little chance against US bidders, TSMC would already have doubts about entering the memory market.

For the claim that American companies have an advantage in the bid, Digitimes refers to a message from Reuters, in which it is stated that the Japanese government would prefer a party from the US due to security interests. The government could even exclude other parties. Toshiba would also have a preference for an American company. TSMC is a Taiwanese foundry that makes processors for third parties, such as Apple, Nvidia and MediaTek.

According to Japanese media, Google, Amazon, Apple, Western Digital and Broadcom, among others, have placed bids. The Korean SK hynix would also be in the race. Toshiba splits its nand production into a separate company Toshiba Memory and sells part of it because it is in financial trouble after a series of financial setbacks. After Samsung, Toshiba is currently the world’s largest nand memory manufacturer.

Image: Nikkei