Toshiba Drops Out From Elpida Acquisition Race

Toshiba Corp. has been removed from the list of prospective sponsors to back the rehabilitation of elpida Memory Inc., it was learned Thursday, the Daily Yomiuri Online reported on a Jiji Press story. As a result, the Japanese chipmaker may be acquired by a foreign company. Micron Technology Inc. of the United States, SK Hynix Inc. of South Korea and a foreign-affiliated investment fund remain on the list of possible sponsors, informed sources said. elpida, the only manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips in Japan, filed for court protection from creditors under the corporate rehabilitation law in late February, leaving liabilities totaling 448 billion yen. Toshiba stopped its DRAM business in 2002, but participated in the bidding to become elpida's sponsor, aiming to obtain the chipmaker's advanced technologies. But the major Japanese electronics maker had to drop out because the planned investment amount and other acquisition terms in its bid were inferior to those of other contenders, the sources said. Read more.