US memory and data storage companies Micron and Western Digital are both exploring acquiring Kioxia Holdings.
Each business is vying for the Japanese memory manufacturer, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The discussions value Kioxia at around $30 billion. Formerly Toshiba Memory, the company is now controlled by private-equity firm Bain Capital.
Back in summer 2020, Kioxia said that it planned an initial public offering by October, for around $20 billion.
This was then cut to $16bn, and in September the listing was called off completely. Kioxia said that US export restrictions on Huawei were impacting its revenues, and that Covid-19 meant there was significant market volatility.
But, WSJ reports, should efforts to sell the company fail, an IPO later this year is still a possibility.
Kioxia’s previous parent company Toshiba sold off a 60 percent stake to a group led by Bain, which includes Apple, Dell, Kingston, and Seagate, for $18 billion. Toshiba retains a 40 percent stake.
Source: datacenterdynamics.com
