Toshiba shares surge following report of $19 bn buyout bid

Shares in Toshiba Corp surged on Thursday following a report that a domestic-led consortium is looking to buy the Japanese conglomerate for 2.8 trillion yen ($19.1 billion).

News agency Kyodo reported on Wednesday that a group of firms led by Japan Industrial Partners, a domestic private equity firm, had made the bid, which marked a premium of around 26 per cent from Wednesday’s closing price.

The consortium will put up around 1 trillion yen in equity, with the rest of the money likely to come from bank financing, Kyodo said, adding that financing talks were ongoing. The price could also change depending on future movements of Toshiba’s stock price, Kyodo said.