Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TSE:6503), industrial conglomerate Toshiba Corporation and chipmaker ROHM Co., Ltd. (TSE:6963) will begin negotiations to merge their power semiconductor device businesses, sources familiar with the matter said. The talks come as the Japanese government pushes for greater recognition of, and market share for, Japanese companies in the chip industry amid declining demand for electric vehicles and the growing dominance of Chinese firms. Power chips can be utilized in a wide range of applications, from electric infrastructure to servers for data centers needed for artificial intelligence. Toshiba and Rohm have already begun merger discussions, with Mitsubishi Electric joining the fray.
Denso Corp., a major auto parts maker, has been considering a takeover of Rohm.
