Toshiba shares fall after JIP-led group submits $21 billion buyout bid

TOKYO – Toshiba Corp shares fell after the Nikkei reported that a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) had submitted a 2.2 trillion yen (S$21 billion) offer for the Japanese conglomerate, a level in line with its market value.

The shares dropped 1.8 per cent in Tokyo trading on Tuesday even as the benchmark Topix index gained.

The JIP-led group, the preferred bidder for Toshiba,

will get around 1 trillion yen of the funds from Japanese firms, over 10 of which have expressed interest in participating in the buyout, the newspaper said. JIP itself will invest 100 billion yen, it said.

Toshiba had a market capitalisation of US$15.1 billion (S$21.2 billion) as at Monday’s close. 

Toshiba spokesman Midori Hara declined to comment, saying to do so would undermine fair process. A spokesman for JIP also declined to comment. 

JIP had not received a commitment letter from financial institutions as at Monday, Nikkei reported. It is in talks to complete the financing process by the end of November if Toshiba accepts the offer, the paper said. The JIP-led group was poised to miss Monday’s deadline for securing financing, Bloomberg reported last week. BLOOMBERG