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Micron Technology Inc.
MU,
and Western Digital Corp.
WDC,
are each exploring a potential deal for Kioxia Holdings Corp. that could value the Japanese semiconductor company at around $30 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, as a global scramble for memory chips used in smartphones and other devices heats up.
A deal for Kioxia , controlled by private-equity firm Bain Capital, isn’t guaranteed, and it isn’t clear how one might be structured. Should a deal come together, it could be finalized later this spring, some of the people said.
Also see: Micron defends ‘disciplined’ capital spending amid chip shortage
The Tokyo-based company had been planning an initial public offering before shelving it in late September, citing the coronavirus pandemic and market volatility. An IPO later this year is still a possibility should the company fail to reach agreement on a deal with one of the suitors, the people said.
Kioxia, formerly part of Toshiba Corp. and known as Toshiba Memory, was purchased in 2018 by a group led by Bain that included Apple Inc.
AAPL,
Dell Technologies Inc.
DELL,
, Kingston Technology Co. and Seagate Technology PLC
STX,
in a deal worth around $18 billion. Toshiba Corp.
6502,
retained a 40% stake in the business, which was renamed Kioxia the following year.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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