Micron confirms Elpida acquisition talks

U.S.-based Micron Technology is reportedly in talks to acquire Elpida's business, as the Japanese chipmaker undergoes restructuring after tough market conditions and bankruptcy. 

According to Reuters on Thursday, the acquisition will give Micron a 25 percent global market share of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, moving it to second place behind Samsung Electronics. It will also give the U.S. chipmaker access to Elpida's chip technology for smartphone and tablets.

Elpida had selected Micron to negotiate a deal following a bidding process, the U.S. company told Reuters. This confirms what a source with knowledge of the deal told the newswire earlier this week--that Micron had offered more than 200 billion yen (US$2.51 billion) for Elpida.

U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital and China's Hony Capital had jointly bidded for Elpida last month, and South Korea's SK Hynix and Japanese's Toshiba had already dropped out of the bidding.

Elpida had filed for bankruptcy in February after losing money for five quarters and could not sustain its debts of 448 billion yen (US$5.5 billion). It also delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March. It had reportedly been in final stages of merger talks with Micron and Taiwanese chipmaker, Nanya, to gain market share in the global semiconductor memory market but Nanya had denied its participation.