CVC Capital Partners makes $20bn bid to take Toshiba private
Toshiba has received a $20bn offer from CVC Capital Partners to take the Japanese conglomerate private.
Toshiba confirmed this morning that it had been approached by the private equity firm with an acquisition proposal.
The firm said it “will ask for further clarification and give it careful consideration”, but did not provide any further details.
The proposed deal, which comes three weeks after shareholders approved an independent probe into the company, could shield managers, particularly chief executive Nobuaki Kurumatani, from that scrutiny.
It would, however, invite regulatory review given its government work.
Toshiba’s board, which includes Kurumatani who joined Toshiba from CVC, and Yoshiaki Fujimori, a senior advisor at the private equity firm, will discuss the proposal on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
If they accepted the current offer it would be the biggest private equity-led deal in Asia Pacific this year, surpassing Blackstone’s $6bn offer for Crown Resorts in Australia, according to Refinitiv data. It would also be CVC’s biggest foray into the region so far.