Elpida Memory Inc. said Thursday it's open to selling a stake of about 10 percent to Taiwan Memory Co., which on Wednesday named the chip maker as its technology partner.
Japan's biggest memory chip maker is considering a private stock placement and may ask Taiwan Memory to underwrite preferred shares and loans, said Kumi Higuchi, an Elpida spokeswoman. She was confirming a report by the Nikkei newspaper.
"There has been some discussion on whether a stake sale will happen, but no specific negotiations have taken place yet," Higuchi remarked.
Taiwan Memory was set up by the island's government in a bid to reorganize the $23.6 billion industry that had record losses in the past two years. The new company, designed to give Taiwanese chip makers the scale to compete with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., said Wednesday it will focus on developing memory chips for mobile phones.