Toshiba Finds Buyer For Memory Bussiness

Toshiba has been in quite a spot of trouble lately. This comes after disastrous investments in nuclear power plants and an over $1 billion USD accounting mistake. Due to the series of unfortunate events, the Japanese conglomerate is hurting for cash. In an effort to raise some liquid capital, the company announced last year it would be looking for someone to buy their memory business. At long last, it looks like a suitable buyer offering the right price has been found.

While much of their business is doing poorly, Toshiba’s memory business is one of their bright spots. Despite being on of their best performers, selling a stake in their memory is the only way to raise money. At the start, Toshiba announced that they would be seeking a buyer for about 20-25% but later indicated they would be willing to sell more. In fact, finding a seller was taking so long some reports indicated they would even be willing to give up 51%.

Toshiba Sells 20% Stake to US-Japan Consortium

The final buyer selected is a consortium of US and Japanese organizations. The consortium consists of the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan led by the Japanese government, Bain Capital Private Equity LP and the Development Bank of Japan. With a 20% stake in the roughly $20 billion USD business, the deal is likely around $4 billion. This should be enough to tide Toshiba over until they fix their house up.

There were several Chinese firms that showed interest but those overtures were torpedo by national security concerns. Earlier reports suggested that Western Digital, Toshiba’s partner in the memory business was interested in making a purchase. Giving the big role played by the Japanese government, it looks like they want to keep the technology and jobs within the country. Toshiba will finalise the deal in March 2018 upon shareholder approval.