Bidders assess bids valuing Toshiba at $22 billion or more - sources

According to three sources cited by Reuters, bidders for Toshiba (OTC:TOSYY) Corp are considering offering up to 7,000 yen ($51.41) a share to take the struggling Japanese conglomerate private, valuing the deal at over $22 billion.

Toshiba, which is assessing its strategic options, stated this month that it has received eight initial takeover proposals and two capital partnership proposals that would allow it to remain publicly listed.

According to the sources, the bidders are currently exploring an offer price range of up to 7,000 yen per share with Toshiba's shareholders. This is a 27 percent premium over Toshiba's closing share price of 5,501 yen per share on Wednesday.

According to a third source, there is a vast selection of offers with several stipulations attached.

On Thursday morning in Tokyo, Toshiba shares climbed by 5.3%, outpacing the Nikkei average gain of 0.8%.

The chips-to-nuclear-reactors conglomerate would be valued at a maximum of 3 trillion yen ($22 billion) if the bid price is completed.

Toshiba notified Reuters that it would not disclose the specifics of its strategy.

KKR & Co (NYSE:KKR) Inc, Baring Private Equity Asia, Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Inc, Bain Capital, Brookfield Asset Management, MBK Partners, Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), and CVC Capital have reportedly submitted first bids.

They said that some of the bidders may form consortiums.

Bain, Blackstone, Brookfield, Baring, CVC, KKR, and MBK all refused to comment. Apollo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to individuals who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media, domestic funds, most notably Japan Investment Corp (JIC), and a number of significant stakeholders are examining their participation in the transaction.

JIC declined to comment.

WEAK YEN

If completed, the sale of Toshiba would be the largest in Japan since a consortium led by Bain sold Kioxia for $18 billion in 2018.

The conversations are taking place at a time when a weak yen continues to afflict the Japanese economy, endangering the business plans of Japanese firms and making them attractive takeover targets for foreign bidders.

On Wednesday morning, the yen reached a new 24-year low against the dollar, falling to 136.71.

According to two sources, of all the potential bidders, Bain has been the most "aggressive" in pursuing a purchase.

Even at 6,500 yen per share, a Japanese investment banker with knowledge of the transaction remarked that Toshiba's valuation was "very expensive."

Ultimately, he noted, the price must reflect how investors see Toshiba's 40 percent stake in unlisted chip producer Kioxia.

According to him, this gave Bain an advantage over other bidders because the private equity company possessed a majority stake in Kioxia, meaning it would influence the fate of the chipmaker, impacting Toshiba's value.

In April, after shareholders rejected a restructuring proposal backed by management, Toshiba, which has been beset by accounting and governance problems since 2015, appointed a special committee to find answers.

The company previously announced it will shortlist bidders for due diligence following its annual shareholders' meeting on June 28.