Consortium buys Toshiba’s memory unit
TOKYO — The buyers of Toshiba Corp.’s memory device operations are promising to invest in technology development and manufacturing facilities to stay competitive, although they stopped short of giving a specific monetary amount or naming a new factory site.
The 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) deal for the consortium led by Bain Capital Private Equity to acquire Toshiba Memory closed June 1 after clearing antitrust regulatory approval.
Yuji Sugimoto of Bain told reporters Monday the company may change its name to enhance the brand’s image and is aiming for an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange within a few years.
Sugimoto said he was also eyeing mergers and acquisitions to expand the company’s business. He said talks have started with Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, a government investment fund, and the Development Bank of Japan on potential new investments.
Japanese interests control a 50.1 per cent stake in the Toshiba memory entity, although investors include SK Hynix of South Korea and American companies like Apple and Dell.
Their potential participation is being scrutinized amid fears the flash memory technology developed by Toshiba could be lost to overseas interests. In particular, Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea is a major rival in the area of memory devices, which are crucial for smartphones, IoT or the Internet of Things and other potentially lucrative sectors.
To ensure growth over the next two years, Toshiba Memory plans to add 500 people with skills in researching and developing memory technology, the company President Yasuo Naruke said.
Details were unclear. Naruke emphasized what he called “high-quality Japanese engineers.”
Toshiba, which also has railroad and nuclear energy units, sorely needed to sell the memory unit after its U.S. nuclear operations at Westinghouse Electric Co. filed for bankruptcy last year.