Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said yesterday that Apple and Dell have joined on his company's bid for Toshiba's semiconductors business, which could garner more than $18 billion. It makes sense for China-based Foxconn to bring on American partners, given the political hurdles in Japan. Well, until you remember that Dell is backed by Silver Lake ― the same private equity firm that has teamed with Broadcom on its own bid for the Toshiba business.
Don't overplay: Word is that Dell didn't make any binding financial commitment to Foxconn, so this might be more a case of Gou asking for an optics favor from his major supply chain partners, as Toshiba is just about a week away from naming a winning bidder. We also hear that the Broadcom/Silver Lake bid very much remains on the table.
