Toshiba Corp chief executive officer Nobuaki Kurumatani resigned yesterday as a buyout offer from a private equity fund stirs turmoil inside the storied Japanese company, with reports suggesting that two other funds are considering bids.
Kurumatani’s resignation is the latest development in years of upheaval at the firm, which in January won back its spot on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange after restructuring.
The board accepted Kurumatani’s resignation “as he has completed his mission of revitalizing Toshiba,” Osamu Nagayama, head of the firm’s appointment committee, told reporters after the company confirmed the departure.
Photo: AFP
Kurumatani declined to appear before journalists, but a statement from him was read out at the event.
His departure comes as board members raise questions about the buyout offer from CVC Capital Partners Ltd, where Kurumatani formerly headed Japanese operations — although Nagayama has said that conflict of interest allegations had “nothing to do” with the resignation.
The private equity firm is reportedly offering a deal in excess of US$20 billion, but there are reports that some at Toshiba see that sum as too small.
Kuramtani’s departure is likely to be seen as a reflection of internal disagreements over the CVC offer.
The Financial Times reported that another private equity fund, KKR & Co Inc, is planning to offer its own larger buyout proposal.
Bloomberg News reported that a third fund, Canadian Brookfield Asset Management Inc, is also exploring a possible offer.
Toshiba officials did not address the reports at yesterday’s news conference.
Toshiba last week confirmed that it had received the CVC offer, which would take Toshiba private.
Delisting the firm could produce faster decisionmaking by Toshiba’s management, which has over the past few months clashed with shareholders.
It could also allow Toshiba to concentrate resources on renewable energies and other core businesses.
However, any buyout offer is likely to face significant challenges, including securing financing and regulatory approval.
Nagayama said that Toshiba would consider CVC’s offer cautiously, but warned that it “lacks detail as an initial proposal.”
“It’s not something Toshiba has asked for, and it has come suddenly,” he said.
“We will make the best choice for shareholders, our employees, and society” if a formal proposal is made, Kurumatani’s successor, Satoshi Tsunakawa, said.
Kurumatani worked for CVC from 2017 to 2018, and his departure would “remove uncertainty over potential conflicts of interest”, said Justin Tang (鄧文雄), head of Asian research at United First Partners.
It will also “force the board to seek other offers that are in the best interests of shareholders,” he said. “It is a very sticky situation at present.”
CVC reportedly hopes to secure financing assistance for its buyout bid, and Toshiba last week said that the bid was likely to involve “a substantial amount of time and considerable complexity.”
The CVC offer is reportedly about ￥5,000 per share, but Tang said that he believes “a price north of ￥6,000 is necessary to get shareholders over the line.”
Toshiba shares yesterday closed up 5.76 percent at ￥4,860.
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
Micron Technology Inc is a driving force pushing the US Congress to pass legislation that would put new export restrictions on equipment its Chinese competitors use to make their chips, according to people familiar with the matter. A US House of Representatives panel yesterday was to vote on the “MATCH Act,” a bill designed to close gaps in restrictions on chipmaking equipment. It would also pressure foreign companies that sell equipment to Chinese chipmaking facilities to align with export curbs on US companies like Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc. The bill targets facilities operated by China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc
Japan’s reliance on the Middle East for aluminum is forcing companies to cut back on production and scramble for alternative supply sources after key shipping routes were severed due to the Iran conflict. Among the most exposed are auto and parts makers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Denso Corp. Domestic automakers get about 70 percent of their aluminum imports from the Middle East, the nation’s top auto lobby said. The price of the lightweight alloy — used in everything from engine parts to wheels — has jumped about 13 percent since hostilities started in late February. “It’s only been a month, but it’s
RSS