Data storage group’s Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) and Seagate Technology Plc (NASDAQ:STX) have been on the back-foot since Monday’s regular trading closed after the former changed guidance for the fourth quarter, but takeover talk on Tuesday promised a quick change of subject.

Western Digital has reportedly submitted a new bid for Toshiba’s flash memory business, with the revised offer pitched at US$18bn. It is the latest twist in an ongoing spat between the two groups which jointly operate a memory manufacturing plant in Japan.

On Monday, after market hours, Western Digital upgraded earnings expectations for the fourth quarter, with the company saying flash memory and hard drive sales were up, but, revenue guidance remains unchanged and gross margin is higher.

WDC dropped 2.22% since Monday’s close, trading at US$90.60, while Seagate slumped 1.75% to US$41.65.