Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Corp. is in the final stage of talks to buy the hard-disk drive business of Fujitsu Ltd. for as much as 40 billion yen ($447 million), Nikkei English News reported, without citing anyone.

The companies may announce an agreement by the end of the month and the acquisition could be completed by about April, the report said.

Toshiba wants to buy Fujitsu’s hard-drive production and sales networks, including factories in Thailand and the Philippines, Nikkei said. The purchase would make Toshiba the world’s largest supplier of small hard drives, Nikkei said.

Fujitsu spokesman Etsuro Yamada said he wasn’t immediately able to comment on the report. Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori wasn’t immediately available.

(Nikkei English News)

To contact the reporter on this story: Tak Kumakura in Tokyo tkumakura@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 13, 2009 17:52 EST