Reuters is reporting this morning that top chip maker Samsung Electronics is mulling buying up flash memory maker SanDisk, though a spokesperson said a decision hasn't been made.

The move would be a huge boost for Samsung financially and market wise.

It would save $350 million a year it now pays SanDisk in licensing fees, and as flash memory is gaining big ground with storage vendors it could propel Samsung into the lucrative industry.

Reuters noted that Seagate was rumoured to be courting SanDisk last month.

The big loser, according to analysts quoted, would be Toshiba, which partners with SanDisk and competes with Samsung. No surprise stock prices fell for Toshiba but were up for both SanDisk and Samsung this morning.

The $3B plus deal would likely hit some challenging regulatory reviews, say pundits, over anti-trust concerns.