SK Hynix, the world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker, said Friday that it would take part in the bid for Japan’s bankrupt dynamic random access memory maker Elpida Memory.

The Korean firm submitted a preliminary bid for Elpida, which filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan, to Nomura Securities, sources said.

SK Hynix also confirmed the bid submission in a regulatory filing later in the day, stating that it would finalize its decision after conducting due diligence in the future.

“We reached a decision to participate in the bidding process not only to enhance the firm’s competitiveness but also to see if the deal could boost our company value,” said an SK Hynix official.

“We will look at the Elpida’s chances of a revival and the synergy that could be brought with the merger ahead of finalizing the bid.”

So far, U.S.-based Micron and Japan’s Toshiba are the other two players known to have submitted bids to take over the Japanese memory chipmaker.

If SK Hynix makes a successful bid, the firm is likely to take up about 36 percent of the share in the global DRAM market.

According to market research firm iSuppli, Elpida’s share in the global DRAM market last year recorded 13.1 percent, a runner-up to the world’s No. 2 biggest DRAM maker SK Hynix which had about 23 percent stake.

The industry’s top player is Samsung Electronics, which controls about 42 percent of the global market.

In the meantime, Elpida is expected to select a firm to take over its company in late April following three rounds of negotiations, according to Meritz Securities.

Elpida is the top Japanese DRAM manufacturer which was the result of a merger of three different firms ― NEC, Hitachi and Mitsubishi ― about a decade ago.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)