Toshiba's Sale of Chip Subsidiary May Be Affected by New US Tariffs on China
Xu Wei
DATE:  Mar 26 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Toshiba's Sale of Chip Subsidiary May Be Affected by New US Tariffs on China Toshiba's Sale of Chip Subsidiary May Be Affected by New US Tariffs on China

(Yicai Global) March 26 -- China's anti-monopoly regulator has not yet approved Toshiba Corp.'s sale of its chip subsidiary to a consortium, the Japanese company said today. As a result, Toshiba is unlikely to complete the transaction before its deadline by the end of this month, reported Sina Tech. The company pointed to new US tariffs on Chinese imports as likely cause of the delay.

The company expected to obtain approval by Chinese antitrust authorities before March 23, it said. However, the U.S. announced new tariffs on Chinese imports on March 22.

If the regulator, China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce, or SAIC, approves Toshiba's planned sale of its chip subsidiary to a consortium led by Bain Capital for JPY2 trillion (USD19 billion), the transaction may be completed before the deadline as scheduled, said a spokesman for Toshiba.

"We don't know when it can go ahead, but we will continue to work hard to complete the transaction as soon as possible," the spokesman said, adding Toshiba has not yet given up on concluding the deal by the end of this month.

China's approval is the latest hurdle before completing the deal that aims at improving troubled Toshiba's finances. The Japanese company will have the right to renegotiate the sale price if U.S. investment firm Bain fails to get all necessary regulatory approvals by March 31. However, Toshiba made clear it has no plans to step back from the agreed USD19 billion deal.

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Keywords:   Japan,Bain Capital,TOSHIBA,Chip,Sale