Toshiba to go private after 74 years

Japan’s Toshiba is set to leave the stock market after more than 70 years, it was confirmed on Thursday, after a consortium acquired a majority of its shares.

The embattled industrial conglomerate, one of Japan’s oldest and biggest firms, has been a public company for 74 years.

But it will now go private after a group of investors led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners purchased 78.65% of the stock, as part of a $14bn agreed takeover.

In a statement to stakeholders, chief executive Taro Shimada – who is expected to remain in place following the takeover – said: “Toshiba will now take a major step toward a new future with a new shareholder.

“Even after privatisation, with our basic commitment of ‘committed to people, committed to the future’, and the values of ‘do the right thing’, we will make best efforts to enhance the company’s corporate value, and we would like to ask for your continued understanding and support.”

The firm is expected to delist as early as December.

Toshiba traces its roots back to 1875, when it made telegraph equipment, and its divisions ranged from home electronics to nuclear power stations.

In recent years, however, it has been rocked by a number of problems, including an accounting scandal, corporate governance failures and significant losses at Westinghouse, its US nuclear power business. It was forced to take a ¥700bn (£3.84bn) write down on the business, and later sold its core memory chip unit to shore up its finances.

It had received a number of takeover approaches, as well as battling activist investors, before accepting JIP’s proposal in March.