AI data-center boom ignites bidding war for critical TDK unit

Fast-moving artificial intelligence data-center operators are demanding hard-drive suppliers pack ever more storage into limited spaces. A bidding war for TDK's hard-disk drive parts business could determine the prospects of Japanese corporate icon Toshiba as well as who controls an increasingly lucrative artificial intelligence data-center storage market. Seagate Technology Holdings and delisted Toshiba are vying for TDK's magnetic-heads business in a deal that could be worth several billion dollars. The winning bidder would be able to expand in-house capabilities in the $23 billion hard-drive market that's been transformed by voracious AI data-center demand. Fast-moving AI data-center operators now are demanding hard-drive suppliers pack ever more storage into limited spaces. Prices are climbing and net income at Seagate and Western Digital -- which together control more than 90% of the global HDD market, according to research firm TrendForce -- has grown by multiples in recent quarters.