Sep 29 (NHK) - Struggling Japanese electronics company Toshiba says it has signed a deal to sell its memory chip unit to a group led by US private equity firm Bain Capital. The deal is worth about 18 billion dollars.
Four US companies, including Apple and Dell, will join Bain in the acquisition. But they will not get any common stock or voting rights.
Toshiba itself and optical glass firm Hoya are putting up some of the money needed for the takeover. The 2 companies will have a combined 50.1 percent of the voting rights.
South Korean semiconductor firm SK Hynix will not be an investor. Its different form of financial support is designed to make it easier for the takeover to pass antitrust screenings in various countries.
Two Japanese state-backed entities, the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan and the Development Bank of Japan, are also considering future investment.
Toshiba wants to fast-track the sale. It hopes to bring its net worth into the black by next March and avoid having its shares delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Source: ANNnewsCH