Good timing?
Chip maker Texas Instruments has agreed to buy the bankrupt US unit of troubled German DRAM maker Qimonda, according to court documents seen by Reuters.
Qimonda initiated insolvency proceedings at the start of the year with the intention of restructuring the business to make it viable once more.
TI's offer takes the form of a ‘stalking horse' bid of $172.5 million, which is effectively the first bid in an auction for the unit that will take place on 23 September this year. If nobody else tops the bid then TI gets it.
The DRAM market has been affected by over-supply and consequent low prices for some time now, meaning most memory makers have been incurring losses. The price of DRAM has been going up recently, however, so this might be a timely acquisition by TI.
