A 2 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) takeover bid for Toshiba Corp. by a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc. has succeeded, the Tokyo-based fund group said Thursday, paving the way for the troubled conglomerate to rebuild itself as a private company.
The bid, launched on Aug. 8 for 4,620 yen per share, attracted 78.65 percent of Toshiba's outstanding shares, the JIP-led group said. More than two-thirds of the shares must be tendered for the bid to be successful.
Toshiba's board had recommended that shareholders accept, after initially saying the offer price was low.
But a lack of other competitive offers and a worsening business environment convinced Toshiba to settle for a relatively low premium.
The bid will bring an end to the company's history as a listed company since 1949 and allow it to sever ties with overseas activist shareholders who it says were only seeking short-term returns.
Toshiba has been struggling to recover from a spate of problems in the 2010s, including a scandal related to the overstatement of profits in financial filings. It also incurred massive losses in its U.S. nuclear business in the same period.
The company in 2017 increased its capital through a third-party allotment of new shares totaling about 600 billion yen to eliminate its excess liabilities and remain listed, leading to activist shareholders investing in the company.
