Toshiba faces angry shareholders as chip division sale delayed

CHIBA: Executives at crisis-hit Toshiba faced legions of angry shareholders Wednesday as the firm announced it has yet to clinch a deal to sell its prized chip business to a consortium of US, Japanese and South Korean investors.

The sale, reportedly worth about 2.0 trillion yen ($18 billion), is seen as crucial for the cash-strapped company to plug massive losses at its US nuclear division, Westinghouse Electric.

Last week Toshiba said it has entered into exclusive talks with the public-private Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, state-backed Development Bank of Japan, and US private equity fund Bain Capital, with South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix acting as a lender.

The company was aiming to announce the sale before Wednesday's investor meeting, but said negotiations were still continuing.

"It is taking time to reach a consensus because the consortium comprises multiple parties, and closure was not achieved by Toshiba's primary target date," it said in a statement.

"Toshiba intends to continue the negotiation toward reaching a definitive agreement at the earliest possible date, and will announce this in a timely manner once the agreement is closed."

Toshiba's multi-billion-dollar losses at Westinghouse have raised doubts about the future of one of Japan's best-known companies, which is still recovering from a 2015 accounting scandal.

The firm is now is probing whistleblower claims of financial misconduct by senior managers at the nuclear US unit and trying to gauge the impact on its finances.