CVC Gets More Support on Taking Toshiba Private
Posted on 04/09/2021
Japan Investment Corporation and the Development Bank of Japan are joining CVC Capital Partners’ 2.28 trillion yen (US$ 20.7 billion) takeover bid for Toshiba Corporation. This possible transaction could be the largest-ever leveraged buyout of a Japanese company, beating out Bain Capital’s 2018 carve-out of a majority stake in Toshiba’s flash memory unit (now known as Kioxia). Any approval by Toshiba’s board will face regulatory review, as the company is engaged in a wide range of products from lithium-ion batteries, escalators, and sewerage plants. Toshiba’s board plans to form a special committee to consider the proposal.
Toshiba’s largest shareholder is Singapore-based hedge fund Effissimo Capital Management, an activist investor. Increasingly, activist investors are gaining power in Japan, taking larger positions in Japanese companies.
