A group of investors led by the Japanese government has won the bidding war for Toshiba’s prized memory chip business.
The struggling Japanese conglomerate said Wednesday it has picked a bid worth about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) from a consortium driven by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a state-backed fund.
The fund is at the heart of the government’s efforts to keep the high-tech business in mainly Japanese hands. The INCJ joined forces with U.S. investor Bain Capital and the Development Bank of Japan for the bid.
The group beat out other offers, including one from Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn, one of Apple’s biggest suppliers.
Toshiba is selling off its crown jewels to help recover from billions of dollars in losses stemming from the collapse of Westinghouse Electric, its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit.
The Japanese company desperately needs to raise cash. It has warned that losses for the financial year that ended in March are likely hit 950 billion yen ($8.5 billion). Most of that was the result of the problems at Westinghouse.
— Yoko Wakatsuki contributed to this report.
