SAN FRANCISCO—U.S. memory chip vendor Micron Technology Inc. has won the exclusive right to negotiate to buy failed Japanese DRAM vendor Elpida Memory Inc. after offering more than $2.5 billion, according to
a report by the Reuters news service. Part of the $2.5 billion bid will go toward paying down Elpida's debt load, which stands at about $5.5 billion, according to the
Reuters report. The report quoted an anonymous source. That source also speculated that Micron's bid may be too low for Elpida to accept.
Micron
appeared to be the most logical winner last week, when
Hynix reportedly dropped out of the bidding. Elpida, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after a government bailout failed to materialize,
began soliciting bids in March to satisfy its obligations to creditors.
Citing market research provided by IHS iSuppli, the
Reuters report noted that the acquisition of Elpida would
boost Micron's DRAM market share to 25 percent, surpassing SK Hynix Inc. for the No. 2 position among global DRAM vendors.
A separate
Reuters report Monday (May 7), which cited Japan's Jiji news agency as its source, said Micron would invest more than $3.8 billion in Elpida's fabs in Japan and Taiwan over the next five years.