Toshiba drops out of bidding for Elpida: sources TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp is no longer bidding for bankrupt Japanese chip maker Elpida Memory, sources close to the talks said, leaving three foreign firms including SK hynix and Micron Technology in the race to take over the company. Toshiba has decided not to join the second round of bidding set for Friday after talks stalled on a joint bid with potential partners, including South Korea's SK hynix, the sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Those planning to take part in Friday's bidding for Elpida include SK hynix, Micron and private equity firms TPG Capital LP and Hony Capital, according to the sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Earlier this month, an industry source told Reuters that Toshiba approached SK hynix about bidding jointly for Elpida Memory, after its solo bid was reportedly less than Micron's. Toshiba would neither confirm nor deny the report, while SK hynix refused to confirm whether it was bidding on its own. Elpida is the world's No.3 maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, trailing Samsung Electronics and SK hynix with a market share of around 12 percent. Suitors are likely to be interested in the chips it manufactures for smartphones and tablets, although the bulk of DRAM chips are used in personal computers. Micron, which had been discussing a tie-up with Elpida before the Japanese company went bankrupt, had offered at least 150 billion yen ($1.85 billion) in a first round of bidding that closed on March 30, the Nikkei business daily reported. Elpida, formed over a decade ago via a merger of several big Japanese chipmakers' struggling DRAM operations, filed for creditor protection in late February. With $5.6 billion in debt, it marked the biggest bankruptcy of a Japanese manufacturer. $1 = 81.0750 Japanese yen Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa, Additional reporting by Miyoung Kim in Seoul; Editing by Jean Yoon