American Gadget maker, Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and computing giant Dell Inc will join a Foxconn-led consortium bidding for Toshiba Corp’s (6502.T) highly prized chip unit.
Terry Gou, founder and chairman of Foxconn told Reuters during an interview with Reuters in New Taipei City, Taiwan on Monday, June 12.
Terry Gou, Foxconn’s founder and chief executive, said U.S.-based Kingston Technology Co, a maker of memory products, would also be part of the bidding group, while Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) was close to joining.
The Taiwanese firm is also in discussions with Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) about their participation in the bid, he said.
He declined to comment on the total size of the offer or say how much Apple and other U.S. firms planned to invest.
“I can tell you Apple is in for sure,” Gou said in an interview, adding that its participation had been approved by the Chief Executive Tim Cook and Apple’s board of directors.
Toshiba is rushing to find a buyer for the world’s second-largest producer of NAND chips, which it values at $18 billion or more, to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now-bankrupt U.S. nuclear business Westinghouse Electric Corp.
Foxconn, however, has not been seen as a frontrunner for the unit due to its deep ties with China, where it manufactures much of its products.
The Japanese government has said it will block any deal that would risk the transfer of key chip technology out of the country.
But Gou said that Foxconn-led consortium contained no Chinese capital and had the advantage of not inviting as much antitrust scrutiny as other suitors.
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (2317.TW), and its Japanese unit Sharp Corp (6753.T) would have a combined stake of not more than 40 percent, he added, Reuters reports.
