The year-long saga of the takeover of Toshiba is coming to an end. A consortium around the financial investor Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) will probably end of July a converted total 14 billion euros present a difficult offer, the Japanese conglomerate announced on Thursday. The Board of Directors supports the offer, but refrains from recommending acceptance to Toshiba shareholders.
Toshiba, one of the most famous companies in Japan, offers numerous products from memory chips to printers to air conditioners. In recent years, the group has been shaken by accounting scandals and increased, among other things, by the insolvency the US nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse billion losses. In the subsequent dispute with activist investors about a realignment, Toshiba wore out several CEOs.
Price is lower than expected
The takeover ends months of uncertainty about the future of the traditional group, said the analyst Travis Lundy from the investment advisor Quiddity Advisors. The selling price is lower than hoped for, but the relief that there is finally a deal could outweigh this. Last year, insiders had a takeover bid with a volume of up to good 20 billion euros brought up for discussion.
According to the information, JIP is offering 4,620 yen (32.28 euros) per share. This price lies 9.4 percent above Thursday’s closing price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stocks listed in Frankfurt grew at a similar rate.
Analyst Atul Goyal from the investment bank Jefferies However, he expressed skepticism about the deal. Toshiba apparently preferred JIP as a buyer because the financial investor signaled that management and company changes would be limited. “We’re now asking ourselves how the group will then create added value.” Because Toshiba’s operational business is anything but smooth: A few weeks ago, after a slump in profits, the group lowered its business targets for the second time within a few months.
