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Toshiba sees no need to make rival bid for SanDisk
CHIBA, Japan (Reuters) - The head of Japanese electronics conglomerate Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said he saw no need to buy flash memory card maker SanDisk Corp (SNDK.O), a takeover target of South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS).
There has been speculation that Toshiba might launch a counterbid for SanDisk to prevent it from falling into the hands of Samsung, which had a $5.9 billion offer to buy SanDisk rejected last month.
SanDisk, the largest U.S. retailer in flash memory cards, is important to Toshiba because the two are partners in flash memory production and SanDisk holds key patents.
"We go back a long way and our partnership is tied by many agreements," President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters on the sidelines of electronics industry trade show CEATEC on Thursday.
Asked if Toshiba, the world's No.2 maker of NAND flash memory chips after Samsung, would consider taking a stake in SanDisk or buying the company, Nishida said: "That's not necessary."
Nishida noted a meeting with SanDisk officials in the United States last week was part of a routine visit.
Regulatory issues likely to be faced by Samsung may also be why Toshiba is adopting a wait-and-see approach.
If Samsung were to buy SanDisk, it would have to convince U.S. regulators that joining the top flash memory chip maker with the biggest producer of memory cards would not hurt competition.
Flash memory stores data for digital cameras, digital recording devices and mobile phones, and Toshiba is betting big on future demand for storage that is lighter and cooler than hard disk drives.
(Editing by Jean Yoon)
