Japanese technology and electronics group Toshiba has received a takeover offer from investment company CVC Capital Partners. More than $ 20 billion may be involved in that offer. Toshiba said it was looking at the proposal.
CVC would like to take the company off the stock exchange. Toshiba stock trading was halted on the Tokyo stock exchange on Wednesday. If the deal goes through, it could become one of the most significant acquisitions by any investment company in years.
Toshiba has faced a range of problems in recent years, including accounting fraud and costly setbacks in its nuclear power business. To solve the financial problems, Toshiba had to sell most of its chip division. Toshiba is also active in, for example, electronics such as printers and copiers, renewable energy equipment, semiconductors and a range of other technologies.
CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani heads the 145-year-old conglomerate. He previously led CVC’s Japanese operations before taking up the senior position at Toshiba. If Toshiba leaves the stock exchange, it could speed up decision-making at the company. Toshiba has recently had clashes with shareholders who are dissatisfied with the company’s performance.
A takeover of Toshiba by a foreign party will have to be approved by the Japanese government. Obstacles may arise here as Toshiba is a major nuclear and defence player in Japan and has sensitive technology in its hands. That could raise national security concerns among the Japanese authorities over the deal.
Toshiba’s former chip branch is called Kioxia. Recently there were reports that Kioxia is in the interest of acquisition by American chip companies. Kioxia could also go on an IPO, where the chip company is valued at $ 36 billion. Toshiba sold a majority stake in the chip division to a consortium led by investor Bain Capital a few years ago and still owns a portion of Kioxia.