Both giant storage manufacturers SanDisk and Toshiba are likely the targets of Chinese state-owned mammoth corporation, Tsinghua Unigroup, according to reports. Recently, the two veteran companies jointly create NAND flash technology, although reports suggest that each company has been shaky in terms of financial status. Furthermore, a subsidiary of the Tsinghua Unigroup is about to acquire a 15% stake in another storage manufacturer, Western Digital for $3.8 billion.
The news comes out a couple of months after the Tsinghua Unigroup attempted to buy American NAND manufacturer Micron but was stopped by the U.S. government in its tracks. However, the group still isn't done attempting to conquer and purchase NAND patents that are owned by storage manufacturers such as SanDisk and Toshiba as China attempts to establish a homegrown industry of NAND flash memory technology and storage devices.
The Tsinghua Unigroup has shifted its eyes towards the likes of storage manufacturers Toshiba and SanDisk are relatively simple -- both companies are now easy targets to prey on. Both companies deal in NAND flash storage manufacturing with Toshiba recently passing through serious financial issues due to a major corruption scandal that had its CEO and its entire upper staff removed from the company.
This has resulted to Toshiba ending its TV and PC businesses to save on its financial resources. However, as the Japanese company still owns nuclear plant technologies in its country, the Tsinghua Unigroup could be facing a bit of a fight ahead if it wants to purchase the entirety of the company.
On the other hand, the Tsinghua Unigroup seeks to build a solid NAND and DRAM industry on China through any means necessary. According to reports, the Tsinghua Unigroup offered Micron a massive amount of $23 billion in order to secure the acquisition. However, the deal was stopped ultimately by the Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) due to national security concerns.
