Japanese electronics giant Toshiba Corp. has been delisted on Wednesday from the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), ending its 74-year run as a publicly traded company following an acquisition from a group of investors led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners Inc. (JIP).
Tokyo-based Toshiba is set to become a private business after a $14 billion buyout from the consortium headed by JIP, with financial services group ORIX Corp., energy firm Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc., and chipmaker Rohm Semiconductor also taking part.
The deal puts one of Japan’s largest brands under domestic control that plans a turnaround for the company which has been weakened by a series of issues since 2010, including an accounting scandal and significant losses from its nuclear unit in the US.
Under its new owner, Toshiba’s board would comprise four JIP executives and one each from Chubu Electric and ORIX. The firm’s president and chief executive Taro Shimada will retain his role.
Toshiba said it is now taking a ‘major step to a new future with a new shareholder,’ and that it would work on further improving its corporate value and contribute to society.
Shares in Toshiba closed 0.1% lower at ¥4,590 on its final trading day on TSE.
What Lies Ahead for Toshiba
Being delisted from TSE provides Toshiba the opportunity to end its relationship with activist investors who has hurt its business and team up with 20 Japanese companies making up consortium to pursue expansion.
The company stated earlier in December that it is partnering with Rohm to invest $2.7 billion in jointly building power chips used for electric vehicles (EVs) and other products.
Additionally, Toshiba is looking at potential growth sources such as social infrastructure and quantum technology.
Japan’s government will also keep an eye on the maker of batteries, chips, and nuclear and defense equipment. Toshiba houses 106,000 employees and run certain operations that are considered important to national security.
Professor of Japanese business Ulrike Schaede said the firm needs to withdraw from ventures with lower margins and create more robust commercial plans for some of its advanced technologies.
Toshiba can be a significant player if the management can enable engineers to truly participate in innovative activities, according to Schaede.
