Toshiba agreed to a Japan consortium’s $15B buyout offer

Toshiba Corporation has accepted a buyout proposal worth $15 billion from a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) private equity firm. The bid set the company’s value at ¥2 trillion.

Reuters reported that a successful deal would make Toshiba a private company and fully run by local owners. This is also expected to diminish the traction with foreign activist shareholders after the company got involved in many controversies.

Then again, it is not yet clear if activists would agree with the terms, and this is important because they make up about a quarter of the company. According to sources, about 20 Japanese firms, such as Orix Corp. financial company, Rohm Co. chipmaking firm, and Chubu Electric Power, are said to be interested in participating in the deal as well.

Based on Refinitiv data, this will be the third-largest merger and acquisition (M&A) deal in the world so far for this year. Toshiba also owns 40.6% of Kioxia Holdings, a memory chip maker.

It is a massive company but encountered financial troubles after being hit by a string of scandals related to its accounting and huge losses. Toshiba ended up so battered that it came close to being delisted at one point. The corporate scandals further brought the company down to its current state.

“This ends months of uncertainty regarding whether a deal was coming and years of uncertainty regarding Board understanding of the right price,” Travis Lundy, an analyst at Quiddity Advisors, said regarding the buyout deal. “This would provide a lot of activists a way out, even if it is not what they hoped for. The question is whether ‘Toshiba Fatigue’ is strong enough to overcome disappointment on price.”

The JIP consortium submitted its buyout bid last month, and this was supported by a $10.6 billion loan commitment from major banks. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the next step after Toshiba agreed to the deal is a tender offer that is expected to begin in late July. The company has yet to announce the exact date for this.

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