When those in the tech industry think of flash memory, names like Toshiba, Samsung, and SanDisk often come to mind. NAND flash memory is used in numerous devices ranging from cell phones to digital cameras to burgeoning netbook market.

With the production of NAND flash ramping up and prices on the way down, manufacturers are looking for ways to not only gain more market share, but also to lower costs across the board. Samsung, the leader in NAND flash, is looking to acquire SanDisk in order to further strengthen its position in the marketplace according to Reuters.

A Samsung spokesman declined to give completed details and only provided this statement to Reuters, "We are looking at various opportunities regarding SanDisk, but nothing has been decided yet."

Samsung has become increasingly interested in SanDisk as it watched the company's stock price fall from over $33 in May to $13.46 yesterday. The purchase of SanDisk could also significantly reduce the licensing fees that Samsung pays to its competitors -- Samsung currently pays about $354 million USD per year to SanDisk in licensing fees.

"By acquiring SanDisk, Samsung could also reduce expenses related to royalties, and use SanDisk's marketing presence to establish itself in the flash-based computer market," said Daewoo Sec analyst James Song.

The big loser in a SanDisk acquisition would be Toshiba. Toshiba has plans to bulk up its flash capacity courtesy of a joint venture with SanDisk. The move would also effectively erase the inroads that Toshiba has made in its efforts to chip away at Samsung's lead in the marketplace.

DailyTech reported in early July that hard drive manufacturer Seagate was interested in acquiring SanDisk in order to jumpstart its efforts with solid-state drives (SSDs).