Tokyo September 22 2023: Toshiba, one of Japan’s most venerable and largest companies, is poised to conclude its 74-year history on the stock market as a consortium of investors has acquired a controlling stake.
The company has announced that a group led by the private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) has secured 78.65% of its shares. This majority ownership position enables the consortium to finalize a $14 billion (£11.4 billion) agreement to take Toshiba private. Toshiba, with its origins dating back to 1875 as a manufacturer of telegraph equipment, could see its shares delisted from the stock market as early as the end of this year.
Toshiba’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Taro Shimada, stated that the company is “now taking a significant step towards a new future with a new shareholder.”
Toshiba’s shares initially began trading in May 1949 when the Tokyo Stock Exchange reopened following World War II. Over the years, Toshiba has been involved in various sectors, ranging from home electronics to nuclear power plants, and for decades, it symbolized Japan’s economic recovery and technological prowess.
In 1985, Toshiba made history by introducing what it claimed to be “the world’s first mass-market laptop computer.”
