by Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) – Toshiba’s board said on Thursday it had accepted a $15 billion (13.7 billion euros) takeover bid from a consortium led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP).
If the takeover by JIP and the other members of the consortium – including Orix Corp, Rohm Co and Chubu Electric Power – is successful, it would be the third largest transaction globally so far this year, data shows. Refinitiv.
Toshiba, a sprawling conglomerate whose businesses range from nuclear power to defense technology and which owns 40% of memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings, has been in turmoil since 2015 due to scandals over its accounts and corporate governance. company, heavy losses as well as friction with activist shareholders that led to a strategic review.
“This ends months of uncertainty about whether a deal will be possible and years of uncertainty about whether the board will understand the right price,” said Quiddity analyst Travis Lundy. Advisors.
“It would allow many (shareholders) activists to get out of it, even if it is not what they hoped for”.
Last month, the JIP-led consortium submitted a binding takeover proposal, backed by $10.6 billion in loan commitments from major banks.
It took several weeks for the board to vote on JIP’s proposal because some board members were unhappy with the bid price, sources said.
Toshiba shares have fallen 12% this year while the Nikkei 225 index has fallen 2.2% over the same period.
(Report Makiko Yamazaki, with the contribution of Kane Wu; Kate Entringer and Nathan Vifflin, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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