Apple and Amazon will reportedly join Foxconn’s bid for Toshiba Corp’s semiconductor business. This was quoted by Foxconn’s Chairman Terry Gou to Nikkei business daily.
It is not clear if this would take the form of a direct investment in the semiconductor unit or would be financing for the deal. Taiwan’s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, has also partnered with its Japanese unit Sharp Corp in its bid.
“Foxconn can confirm that we have submitted a bid for Toshiba’s chip business with a number of strategic partners,” the Taiwanese firm said in a statement. Toshiba is depending on the sale of the unit, the world’s second-largest NAND chip maker, to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse.
Foxconn, which is also a major supplier to Apple, is not seen as a frontrunner for the unit, which Toshiba has valued at least $18 billion, due to its deep ties with China. The Japanese government has said it will block any deal that would risk the transfer of key chip technology out of the country.
