DRESDEN, Germany -- Infineon Technologies AG and Toshiba Corp. have agreed on a the broad outlines of a joint venture combining their respective DRAM operations, an Infineon spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The plan is being put before the boards of both companies, and if approval is given the final details will then be worked out, the spokeswoman added.
On Tuesday, the president of Infineon, Ulrich Schumacher, told EBN the companies were still discussing the DRAM merger, but he wasn't sure when a deal would be completed.
Schumacher said current talks do not involve the Toshiba's flash memory operations, a subject of considerable speculation. "We're having enough trouble concluding DRAM negotiations without trying to take on flash memory," he said.He did not rule out the possibility that some kind of flash venture would eventually be worked out between the two firms.
Asked why Infineon was pursuing Toshiba's DRAM operations, Schumacher said, "Why shouldn't I if I can get it for free?" He declined to elaborate.
There has been speculation that it would be more costly for Toshiba to shut down its DRAM operations than to spin them off. Schumacher also declined to comment on that issue.
Infineon is interested in a deal with Toshiba because it would bring Infineon a key customer base in Japan, Schumacher said. He also was interested in hiring the unit's engineers.
Earlier, Reuters reported that the two firms were on the verge of announcing a DRAM deal which also would give Infineon a 20% stake in Toshiba's NAND flash operations.
The Reuters reports said that Infineon is expected to take as much as 80% of a joint venture with Toshiba which would merge the two companies' money-losing DRAM units.
Infineon is the world's fourth largest maker of DRAMs behind Samsung, Micron and Hynix.
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