Elpida merger talks in final stage / Combined firm could have 2nd-largest share of DRAM chip market

Elpida Memory Inc., the world's third-largest dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) manufacturer, has entered the final stage of negotiations on a merger with U.S. firm Micron Technology Inc. and Taiwan's Nanya Technology Corp, sources said. By merging with the world's fourth- and fifth-largest DRAM makers, Elpida is apparently aiming at regaining lost ground in the global semiconductor memory market, of which South Korean firms control over 60 percent. Elpida is expected to ask the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan for investment as it needs a huge amount of funding for production facilities to enhance the performance of its semiconductors. The amount offered by the fund, which is jointly operated by the government and the private sector, could be as much as 100 billion yen. (Yomiuri)