TOKYO (AFP) – Troubled conglomerate Toshiba said yesterday it has been approached by 10 potential investors as it weighs going private, a move that would be highly unusual in corporate Japan.
The engineering giant was once a symbol of the country’s industrial prowess, producing everything from rice cookers to laptops and nuclear plants.
But more recently it has faced scandals, financial woes and resignations, while management and shareholders have clashed over buyout and spin-off proposals.
Despite the challenges, its earnings are growing.
Yesterday, Toshiba said annual net profit leapt 70 per cent on-year, continuing a recovery from the painful lows of the 2010s. Shareholders in March shunned a plan to split the company into two, stirring internal turmoil after a shock takeover offer from private equity fund CVC Capital Partners was dropped.
