TAIPEI • Apple and computing giant Dell will join a Foxconn- led consortium bidding for Toshiba's prized chip unit.

Mr Terry Gou, Foxconn's founder and CEO, yesterday said US-based Kingston Technology, a maker of memory products, would also be part of the bidding group, while Amazon was close to joining.

The Taiwanese firm is also in talks with Google, Microsoft and Cisco Systems about their participation in the bid, he said.

He declined to say how much Apple and other US firms planned to invest. "I can tell you Apple is in for sure," Mr Gou said in an interview, adding that its participation had been approved by Apple chief executive Tim Cook and its board of directors.

Mr Gou's revelations of the Foxconn-led bid come as uncertainty spikes over the make-up of the groups competing in the hotly contested auction just days before Toshiba is due to announce a preferred bidder.

Western Digital plans to raise its offer for Toshiba's semiconductor unit, a person familiar with the matter said over the weekend, in a last-ditch effort to clinch a deal.

The US chipmaker is part of a consortium led by a Japanese government-backed fund and the group will present the new offer of 2 trillion yen (S$25 billion) or more, the source said.

The news helped Toshiba's shares rise 9 per cent yesterday. But it is still down 26 per cent from levels in late December, before the company flagged big losses at its Westinghouse unit.

REUTERS