Toshiba and Seagate compete to acquire TDK magnetic head business

Toshiba and Seagate are both trying to buy TDK's magnetic head business, according to reports. Toshiba began talks in spring 2026, and Seagate made a higher offer in summer 2026. Magnetic heads are small parts inside hard drives that read and write data. TDK is the only independent company that makes them, and it currently sells to all three major hard drive makers. The deal could be worth several billion dollars. Toshiba has denied that a takeover battle is happening, and its main investor also said the reports are not accurate. Toshiba denied that three-way talks with TDK and Seagate have taken place. Both companies want more storage capacity because AI is driving strong demand for data centres.