Things had gone very quiet since it was reported back in June that Apple would be part of a consortium bidding to buy Toshiba’s chip-making division. This would help Apple secure NAND chips in a market in which there is strong competition for components.
More recently, it had appeared that Western Digital would emerge as the successful bidder. But a new report suggests today that Apple is back in the running, this time without Foxconn …
Reuters today reports that U.S. investment company Bain Capital is leading a bid, with Apple as a partner.
The numbers given in the piece indicate that Apple would effectively end up with around a 20% stake in the business.
The new offer comes as separate sources say the embattled Japanese conglomerate and Western Digital Corp are struggling to strike a deal ahead of their self-imposed deadline of Thursday.
Bain had previously attempted to buy the division, with Toshiba looking favorably on the offer, but talks fell through when Western Digital – which had an existing partnership agreement with the chipmaker – threatened legal action. Reuters says that the new bid addresses this.
Reuters says that Apple was not available for comment at the time the piece was written.
