Report: Toshiba will join Elpida bidding

March 29, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO—After earlier turning down an opportunity to invest in Japanese DRAM vendor Elipda Memory Inc., Toshiba Corp. has apparently decided to join the bidding for the bankrupt firm, according to English language news service reports quoting Japan's Nikkei news service.

According to a report by the Reuters news service, the Nikkei reported that Toshiba could seek financial assistance from the government-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan.

Elpida, Japan's only remaining DRAM vendor, filed for bankruptcy last month after failing to find investment or get a second injection of government funding.

Elpida reportedly is soliciting bids from potential investors in an effort to pull itself out of bankruptcy protection. Micron Technology Inc. is rumored to have already made a bid for Elpida, but the company declined to comment on the rumor.

The Japanese government reportedly urged Toshiba to invest in Elpida prior to the company's bankruptcy filing. But Toshiba, which itself excited the volatile DRAM industry years ago, reportedly declined.