Apple Could Team Up With Foxconn To Bid For Major Stake In Toshiba Chip Unit, Report Says

Apple is reportedly considering getting together with its iPhone assembler Foxconn Technology to bid for Toshiba’s semiconductor business, a Japan public broadcaster NHK reported Friday, according to Reuters.

Apple would be making its own bid next to Foxconn’s bid, and is considering investing at least several billion dollars for a stake of more than 20 percent.

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The report comes after confusion on whether Apple or Foxconn were bidding for a stake in Toshiba’s semiconductor business.

Others interested in buying a stake include Western Digital, Micron Technology, SK Hynix, Broadcom and U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. A separate report said Amazon and Google also joined the bidding race for the chip-making unit.

Apple’s stake is part of a plan for Toshiba to keep the business under U.S. and Japanese control, NHK reported. Apple’s move would try to reduce the Japanese government's concerns about any transfer of sensitive technology to investors it sees as a potential risk to national security. A previous Reuters report found Foxconn lost its bidding ground for Toshiba’s chip business because of its close ties to China.

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Another bump for Apple’s reported bid is another suitor, Western Digital. Western Digital claimed Toshiba’s plans to sell its chip business is violating a joint venture contract between both firms by inviting outside bidders.

If Apple’s bid went forward, it would hurt its rival Samsung, since the iPhone seller would reduce it dependence on the Korean company. After Samsung, Toshiba is the second-biggest maker of flash memory chips.