Toshiba board accepts Japan Industrial Partners buyout proposal –source

Toshiba Corp's (6502.T) board on Thursday accepted a buyout offer from a group led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners, a source familiar with the matter said, potentially drawing a line under years of upheaval for the company.

A successful deal, which sources have previously said would be worth around 2 trillion yen ($15 billion) would see the scandal-ridden industrial conglomerate taken private and firmly in control of domestic hands after much tension with activist shareholders.

It is, however, not yet clear whether activist funds, which are estimated to own roughly a quarter of the company, will be satisfied with the terms.

Some 20 Japanese companies including financial services firm Orix Corp (8591.T), chipmaker Rohm Co (6963.T) and Chubu Electric Power (9502.T) plan to take part in the deal, sources have said. It would be the third-largest M&A transaction globally so far this year, according to Refinitiv data.

The company is due to make an announcement later on Thursday, said another source familiar with the matter. The sources declined to be identified as the deal has not yet been made public.

Toshiba, a sprawling conglomerate which also owns 40.6% of memory chip maker Kioxia Holdings, declined immediate comment.

"This ends months of uncertainty regarding whether a deal was coming and years of uncertainty regarding Board understanding of the right price," said analyst Travis Lundy of Quiddity Advisors, who publishes on Smartkarma.

"This would provide a lot of activists a way out, even if it is not what they hoped for. The question is whether 'Toshiba Fatigue' is strong enough to overcome disappointment on price."

Since 2015, Toshiba has been battered by accounting scandals, heavy losses and came close to being delisted before becoming engulfed in a series of corporate governance scandals.

At one of its lowest points, a shareholder-commissioned investigation concluded Toshiba had colluded with Japan's trade ministry - which sees the company's nuclear and defense technology as a strategic asset - to block overseas investors from gaining influence at its 2020 shareholder meeting.

The fallout from that debacle eventually led to the strategic review and the buyout proposal.

Toshiba started an auction process about a year ago, receiving eight initial buyout proposals as well as two offers for capital alliances.

Four bidders proceeded to a second round, including private equity firms Bain Capital, CVC Capital Partners and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO), sources have said.

JIP initially teamed up with state-backed Japan Investment Corp (JIC) but decided to part ways due to disagreements over whether management should be retained and plans for restructuring.

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

It has taken weeks for the board to proceed with a vote on JIP's proposal as some board members were dissatisfied with its offer price, sources have said.

Shares of Toshiba have fallen 12% over the last year, underperforming a 2.2% decline in the Nikkei 225 average (. N225).

($1 = 130.7500 yen)