Toshiba Corp, a Japanese industrial conglomerate, has said it will split into three separate companies to enhance its shareholder value.
Sources said one of the three companies would own its nuclear power and infrastructure-related divisions and the other one would focus on its power chips and hard disk drive divisions.
The third company will cover Toshiba’s 40.6 per cent stake in unlisted memory chipmaker Kioxia, sources added.
The 146-year old conglomerate has said it would announce its further plans that will encompass the strategic review, second-quarter earnings and the conclusions of a corporate governance report.
The Tokyo-based company plans to complete the spinoffs by the second half of fiscal 2023.
Sources further said that some investors are not supporting Toshiba’s break-up plan, saying it would not create shareholder value.
Okasan Securities’ chief strategist Fumio Matsumoto said though it’s good to split the valuation of a well-established business is hindered by other businesses, but it is not a good one if there’s no such business, adding that in such situation, the break-up just creates three lacklustre midsize firms.
Toshiba has been facing a series of crises since an accounting scandal in 2015. However, the company got a $5.4 billion investment in 2017 from more than 30 overseas investors that helped avoid a delisting.
The tension between Toshiba management and overseas shareholders, including Elliott Management, Third Point and Farallon, has dominated headlines since then.
In June, a shareholder-commissioned probe suggested that Toshiba colluded with Japan’s trade ministry to block investors from gaining influence at shareholders’ meeting last year.