Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s top maker of memory chips, said it may buy flash memory maker SanDisk (SNDK.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is valued at $3.2 billion, in a deal that could reshape a struggling industry.
“We are looking at various opportunities regarding SanDisk, but nothing has been decided yet,” Samsung spokesman James Chung told Reuters in response to reports the South Korean firm was interested in the U.S. maker of flash memory, which is widely used in storage devices and digital gadgets.
In a regulatory filing later, Samsung said an acquisition of SanDisk was an option.
Analysts said an acquisition could shift the balance of power in the flash memory industry.
“Samsung buying SanDisk would mean big damage for Toshiba,” said Yoshihisa Toyosaki, head of IT research firm J-Star Inc paydayloans.com.
Shares in Samsung closed up 1.2 percent after gaining more than 3 percent, outperforming a 1.6 percent fall on the wider Seoul share market .
Stocks in Japan’s Toshiba (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which trails Samsung in the flash market but which plans to nearly double its chip production capacity in partnership with SanDisk, fell 4.6 percent to their lowest since November 2005.
In a brief statement, SanDisk said it “periodically has conversations with multiple parties, including Samsung, regarding a variety of potential business opportunities,” but declined to comment further.
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