“Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group is pressing its case to acquire Toshiba Corp.’s memory chips unit, as the Japanese conglomerate struggles to complete the sale and avoid having its shares delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange,” Bloomberg News reports.
“Foxconn has broad support for its offer from Apple Inc., SoftBank Group Corp. and Sharp Corp. and is ready to proceed right away, said Louis Woo, a spokesman for the company, whose primary listed arm is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.,” Bloomberg reports. “He declined to specify how much Foxconn is offering for the business, but people familiar with the matter have previously said it is bidding more than the two rival groups led by KKR & Co. and Bain Capital… The Bain group had previously submitted a 2.1 trillion yen ($19 billion) bid, while the KKR consortium is offering about 2 trillion yen, people familiar with the matter have said.”
“Japanese government officials have opposed selling the chips unit to Foxconn because of its close ties to China, home to much of the Taiwanese company’s sprawling manufacturing operation,” Bloomberg reports. “Woo detailed the proposed ownership to make the case it is not a Chinese or even Taiwanese bid. Foxconn would hold 25 percent of the equity, Apple 20 percent, Kingston Technology Co. 20 percent, Sharp 15 percent, SoftBank 10 percent and Toshiba would keep 10 percent, he said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s angle in this is, of course, to keep a viable competitor to Samsung as competition among multiple suppliers keeps component costs down.
SEE ALSO:
Bain Capital brings in Apple for last-minute $18 billion bid for Toshiba chip unit – August 30, 2017
Apple and Amazon to back Foxconn on Toshiba chip bid, Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou says – June 5, 2017
Apple may bid for big stake in Toshiba – April 17, 2017
U.S. suitors get major advantage as Japan to vet bidders in Toshiba chip sale over national security risks – March 10, 2017
Sharp Corporation was purchased by Foxconn in 2017, who owns 66% of the company.
SoftBank Group Corporation is based in Tokyo, Japan and owns several subsidiaries, including Sprint, Yahoo! Japan, Brightstar and ARM Holdings (who design the core of Apple’s A-Series chips).
Meanwhile: Western Digital continues to jerk around with Toshiba regarding the sale.