Toshiba Spurns Western Digital, Signs Deal To Sell Memory Chip Unit To Group Led By Bain Capital

It’s been a trying process, hampered by legal interference and government pushback, but Toshiba Corp has finally committed to selling its memory chip unit.

The Japanese firm reportedly closed a ¥2 trillion ($18 billion) deal with an American group led by Bain Capital early Wednesday. The transaction includes Toshiba’s $3.1 billion investment in the unit, as well as stakes from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX), Dell Inc., Kingston Technology Company, Inc., Hoya Corp and SK Hynix Inc.

The arrangement was ultimately preferred to bids by KKR & Co. and two state-backed Japanese entities.

Toshiba intends to see the deal through in spite of expected legal objections from partner Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC), which claims veto power. The seller has sued Western Digital for $1 billion for its interference, and the battle is yet unresolved.

If it remains ongoing by the date of the deal’s closure, three joint ventures worth less than 5 percent of the unit will not be included in the Bain sale.

Shares of Western Digital were down more than 4 percent in pre-market trading.

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Toshiba's Chips Are Past Their Sell-By Date, And Investors Are Buying American

Image: © Raimond Spekking, via Wikimedia Commons