Toshiba was last up 3 percent at 278 yen (1.95 pounds) after earlier rising as high as 279.1 yen, its highest since January. The gains outpaced those of the broader Nikkei stock index, which was up 0.1 percent.

Sources told Reuters the choice has narrowed to one bid from U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Ltd and U.S. tech fund Silver Lake and another from Toshiba chip partner Western Digital Corp and Japanese government-related investors.

(Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Michael Perry)

Stocks treated in this article : Nikkei 225, Toshiba Corp, Western Digital, Broadcom Limited