TOKYO, March 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Rohm, Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric will start talks to integrate their power semiconductor businesses to form the world's second-biggest power chip group after Germany's Infineon, the Nikkei newspaper said on Thursday.
The talks could complicate rival Denso's bid to acquire Rohm, after the Toyota Motor group supplier earlier this month approached the chipmaker about a potential buyout.
The three chipmakers may announce the start of the talks as early as Friday, Nikkei reported, adding they aimed to improve cost competitiveness through the integration.
Toshiba declined to comment, while Rohm did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In a filing, Mitsubishi Electric said that while it was true that the company was considering various options to strengthen the competitiveness of its power chip business, no new decisions had been made.
Despite its shrinking presence in the global chip industry, Japan still holds strength in power semiconductors, which are used to efficiently control electric power in cars, electronic devices and industrial equipment.
Power chips have gained importance as automakers seek to secure stable semiconductor supplies following shortages that emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chip demand has also got a boost from the global AI boom that is fuelling investment in data centres worldwide.
Last week, Kyoto-based Rohm said it had set up a committee of outside directors and others to review Denso's proposal, alongside its standalone strategy and other options to boost its corporate value.
The chipmaker and Denso agreed in May to form a strategic partnership in semiconductors with a focus on integrated circuits used in electric vehicles.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu, Kantaro Komiya and Daniel Leussink; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Arun Koyyur)
