Toshiba Okays $15-B Sale To Japanese Business Group

Toshiba Corp. said this week it has agreed to accept a buyout offer from a consortium led by Tokyo-based fund Japan Industrial Partners Inc., in a deal expected to be worth about 2 trillion yen ($15 billion), Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: The JIP group also plans to relist Toshiba after raising the company's corporate value.

The JIP-led group plans to launch a tender offer in late July to buy Toshiba shares for 4,620 yen each from existing shareholders and delist the company, the conglomerate said.

The group also plans to relist Toshiba after raising the company's corporate value, sources familiar with the matter said. The offer price compares to Toshiba's closing price Thursday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange of 4,213 yen.

This puts the company's market capitalization at 1.82 trillion yen.

The consortium includes about 20 Japanese companies such as Orix Corp. and Rohm Co. A group of banks including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. is expected to finance the deal.

The agreement will conclude the long-running takeover process, which began in April last year after Toshiba said it was looking for bidders in an effort to cut ties with activist shareholders seeking short-term shareholder returns.

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