Apple is considering buying a huge stake in Toshiba's semiconductor business. The tech giant is supposedly willing to shell out billions of dollars for the beleaguered Japanese company's chips, according to a news report on Friday.
The news was broadcast over NHK, a Japanese news broadcasting organization. According to Reuters, Apple is planning to partner with Foxconn, one of its major suppliers, to bid for over 20 percent of the chip business of the troubled Toshiba Corp. The deal would leave Toshiba with a partial share. This allows the chip business to still be under the control of the United States and Japan.
The Japanese government is expected to question the deal as there will understandably be concerns about sensitive technologies that would change hands. Apple is well aware of this which is why it is leaving a portion of the control with Toshiba.
Toshiba has been in trouble lately due to bad investments, particularly in nuclear energy. In fact, it recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Westinghouse Electric Co., Toshiba's nuclear reactor business. The company also reported a loss of $6.3 billion last year mainly due to the failed investment. The company also made some bad judgments before the Westinghouse brouhaha. Back in 2008, the company invested so much on the HD-DVD business when the tech was still new. Unfortunately, the HD format did not succeed. In 2015, the once-popular brand also had to pull out its TVs from the U.S. market.
As a result of the company's continuous plummeting, Toshiba placed its semiconductor business on the market which Apple, along with Foxconn, is eyeing intently. If this deal pushes through, Apple will likely have access to technology of manufacturing "memory chips at the core of modern smartphones and computers", as CNET reported. CNET also explained that this will give the tech giant an opportunity to "consolidate its production processes".
Toshiba will supposedly choose the winning bid sometime in June. By the looks of it, Apple is on the inside track with its offer of several billion of dollars and the prospect of retaining even a bit of control over the semiconductor unit.
