Rumor: Apple wants to bid for Toshiba nand production together with Foxconn

Apple is considering buying Toshiba’s nand production together with Foxconn, a Japanese public broadcaster reported. Foxconn is already a bidder in the sale process of the part of the Japanese company.

By partnering with Foxconn, both companies can offer more and get their hands on the company. With the move, Apple wants a stable supply of storage chips for its devices, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Friday. Apple and Foxconn would both get a part of the company.

In addition to an offer with Foxconn, Apple would also single-handedly buy part of Toshiba’s chip division, while the other part remains in the hands of the Japanese company. It is unknown which of the two scenarios Apple will choose, while there is also a chance that it will not bid for the company at all. In recent years, Apple has built up a large cash reserve due to its high profits that it can use for large investments.

Toshiba has now reduced the number of candidates to four, earlier rumors reported. In addition to Foxconn, SK Hynix, Broadcom and Western Digital would still be in the running. Toshiba is the world’s largest manufacturer of NAND memory, followed by SK Hynix and Samsung. However, the manufacturers are increasingly facing competition from the Chinese Tsinghua Unigroup, which is going to invest 28 billion euros in a memory factory.

Toshiba plans to divest its memory business and part with it to offset losses incurred following the acquisition of a US nuclear power plant company.