Renesas Electronics Corp. said Monday it is in talks with Dialog Semiconductor Plc of Britain to acquire the Apple Inc. supplier, as part of efforts to expand its chip business.

The deal could be valued at 4.9 billion euros ($5.9 billion). Renesas said negotiations are under way on its offer of 67.50 euros per Dialog share.

But the Japanese company also said in a statement that nothing has been decided yet.

Dialog, whose products include semiconductors for cars and smartphones, said separately that an announcement would be made "as and when appropriate."

The talks come as chipmakers are racing to increase output and address a global supply shortage, triggered by robust demand for electronic devices as more people work from home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The negotiations also reflect the expansion strategy of Renesas, which acquired U.S. semiconductor maker Intersil Corp. for $3.2 billion in 2017 and bought another U.S. chipmaker, Integrated Device Technology Inc., for $6.7 billion in 2019.

==Kyodo

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