Toshiba Fires Back at Seagate Takeover Rumors Over TDK Deal

TLDR

• Toshiba has denied a report claiming it is fighting Seagate for control of TDK’s hard-disk drive magnetic-head unit.
• A Toshiba spokesperson called the report “inconsistent” with the company’s understanding of the situation.
• Japan Industrial Partners, Toshiba’s main backer, also disputed the report.
• Bloomberg reported that Toshiba and Seagate have been competing for TDK’s business since spring, with Seagate offering a higher bid in summer.
• TDK is reportedly considering selling the unit to focus on batteries, sensors and other parts.

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Toshiba has pushed back against a news report saying it is locked in a takeover fight with Seagate over a piece of TDK’s business. The report claimed the two companies were competing to buy TDK’s hard-disk drive magnetic-head operations.

Seagate and Toshiba are locked in a contest for TDK’s magnetic-heads business for hard-disk drives in a deal that could be worth several billion dollars — the latest attempt by AI-related hardware makers to keep pace with demand https://t.co/AcUwUYBEbf

— Bloomberg (@business) October 6, 2026

A Toshiba spokesperson told Bloomberg the report does not match the company’s understanding of events. The spokesperson used the word “inconsistent” to describe the gap between the report and what Toshiba says is actually happening.

Japan Industrial Partners backed up that denial. The firm, which is Toshiba’s main financial backer, said the article does not reflect its own understanding either.

Toshiba also denied a more specific claim. The company said no three-way talks have taken place between Toshiba, TDK and Seagate about future supplies of hard-disk drive heads.

What the Original Report Claimed

The report came from Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. It said Toshiba began talks with TDK back in spring.

Seagate then entered the picture over the summer with a higher offer, according to the report. The deal in question involves TDK’s magnetic-head business, which could be worth several billion dollars.

TDK is said to be weighing a sale of the unit as part of a larger shift in strategy. The company wants to put more money into batteries, passive components and sensors instead.

Magnetic heads are small parts that read and write data on the spinning disks inside a hard drive. They work together with the disk media and other parts to make the drive function.

TDK is currently the only independent maker of these magnetic-recording heads. It supplies them to Seagate, Toshiba and Western Digital.

Why the Business Matters

Whoever ends up controlling the unit would gain more influence over a key part of the hard-drive supply chain. That matters because data centers are storing growing amounts of information tied to AI systems.

Hard drives remain a cheaper option than flash storage for storing large volumes of data. That keeps demand for drive components like magnetic heads elevated.

Toshiba relies entirely on TDK for this component, which is one reason the business is seen as valuable to the company. Seagate and Western Digital make some heads internally but still depend on TDK to help during periods of high demand.

Seagate has a history of buying up storage-related businesses. It acquired Intevac, a thin-film processing systems supplier, for about 119 million dollars in 2025.

It also bought Xyratex, a data-storage technology provider, back in 2014 for roughly 376 million dollars.

Seagate’s stock moved slightly higher overnight following the report, trading about 0.1 percent up near 2:30 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday. The stock has climbed more than 223 percent so far this year.

Seagate Technology Holdings plc, STX

Retail sentiment on the stock was described as bullish on Tuesday, according to separate reporting. No agreement or deal has been confirmed by any of the three companies as of Tuesday.