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"We are reviewing the acquisition of SanDisk but it's still at an early stage and no details have been decided yet", a Samsung official said, Yonhap news agency reported.

SanDisk is a leading maker of flash memory chips used in products such as digital cameras and mobile phones.

The report said SanDisk owns several patents for which Samsung has paid about $352 million annually in fees.

Lee Min-hee, an analyst at Dongbu Securities Co., said Samsung may find it difficult to acquire the company, Yonhap said.

He said Samsung at the end of June had cash reserves of about $4.8 billion, which may not be sufficient "to meet its investment target and conduct a takeover at the same time in the second half of this year amid deteriorating earnings."

He said the fact that Japan's Toshiba, which is involved in a chip production joint venture with SanDisk, may prove to be another hurdle, the report said.

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