Toshiba board accepts JIP's $15 bln buyout offer

STORY: Toshiba’s board on Thursday (March 23) accepted a $15 billion buyout.

The offer was from a group led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners.

That’s according to a report from the Nikkei business daily.

If the deal is successful, it will mark the third-largest transaction globally so far this year according to data from Refinitiv.

JIP’s acquisition of one of Japan’s best-known conglomerates could also draw a line under years of internal upheaval.

Since 2015, Toshiba, whose businesses include nuclear power and defense technology, has been battered by scandals, heavy losses, and friction with activist investors.

The JIP consortium last month submitted a binding buyout proposal backed by $10.6 billion in loan commitments from major banks.

Sources say the Toshiba board have delayed voting on the proposal as members were dissatisfied with its offer price.

Shares in the firm have fallen 12% over the last year, underperforming a 2.2% decline in the Nikkei 225 average.