Apple and Amazon back Foxconn to bid for Toshiba's chip business

Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc will join Foxconn's  bid for Toshiba Corp's semiconductor business, the Nikkei business daily quoted Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou as saying on Monday.The two U.S. technology giants plan to "chip in funds", Gou said, according to the interview with the newspaper. It was not immediately clear if this would take the form of a direct investment in the semiconductor unit or would be financing for the deal. Taiwan's Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, has also partnered with its Japanese unit Sharp Corp in its bid.Representatives for Apple and Amazon were not immediately available for comment. Toshiba is depending on the sale of the unit, the world's second-largest NAND chip maker, to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now-bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. Foxconn is not seen as a frontrunner in the sale of the unit, which Toshiba has valued at at least $18 billion, due to its deep ties with China.The Japanese government has said it will block any deal that would risk the transfer of key chip technology out of the country. According to earlier reports, Google is also said to have joined the bidding race. Meanwhile, last year Toshiba had sold their domestic appliance business and Toshiba Lifestyle for $450 million. They had sold 80 percent of their stake in these businesses.Reuters