Micron Wins Bidding for Bankrupt Japanese Chipmaker (MU, INTC)

Citing a report on Japan’s NHK broadcasting system, Reuters reports this morning that DRAM maker Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) has topped the bidding for bankrupt Japanese chipmaker Elpida Memory. The winning bid is said to be around $2.5 billion.

Elpida filed for bankruptcy in February, and at that time Micron and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) were said to be in the running to acquire the company. Micron reportedly made an offer of $1.5 billion at the time.

If the report is accurate, Micron may have found one way to keep DRAM prices from falling even more as well as a way to keep up in the race to integrate CPU, GPU, NAND flash and mobile DRAM chips onto a single chip.

Micron’s shares are up about 4.5% after a half-hour of trading this morning, at $6.76 in a 52-week range of $3.97-$11.13.

Paul Ausick