Bain Capital plans to have Toshiba's chip business listed in Japan within three years

Tencent Technology News US private equity firm Bain Capital said on Thursday that it plans to have Toshiba's chip business listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange within three years in order to realize return on investment.

Not long ago, the consortium headed by Bain Capital successfully acquired Toshiba’s chip business for US$18 billion.

At the same time, Bain Capital also stated that it would end legal disputes with Western Digital on the Toshiba chip business transaction as soon as possible. Western Digital has cooperated with Toshiba in the chip business and jointly owns the assets of some companies.

Toshiba plans to complete the transaction by the end of March next year, which is the end of the fiscal year. Toshiba sells its chip business to fill the huge deficit caused by its US nuclear electronics company, and "whitewashes" the balance sheet to avoid the company's stock being delisted by the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Sources revealed on Wednesday that to seize the time to complete the transaction, Bain Capital submitted relevant documents to China's anti-monopoly authority on the second day of the signing of the acquisition contract, requesting approval.

However, due to many aspects of the chip business, the relevant review time may be extended.

At the first news conference after the acquisition of Toshiba’s chip business, Yuji Sugimoto, head of Bain Capital's Japan presence, told reporters on Thursday that the company hopes to maintain the stability of the chip business through its contract with Apple. Apple is not only a major customer of Toshiba's chip business, but also a participant in Bain Capital's acquisition.

Yuji Sugimoto said: “We have submitted relevant documents on a global scale and requested the approval of the anti-monopoly authority. We will do our utmost to complete the transaction by March next year.”

However, Bain Capital's acquisition of Toshiba’s chip business faces challenges from Western Digital. Western Digital hopes to block the deal by legal means. Western Digital also previously participated in bidding for Toshiba's chip business. The company also stated that as a partner of the Toshiba chip business, it does not recognize any transactions without its consent.

Western Digital spent about $16 billion last year acquiring SanDisk. Since 2000, Toshiba has been working with SanDisk to establish a series of chip joint ventures. Western Digital regards the chip as one of the pillars of its growth and is committed to preventing other chip makers from “sniffing” the Toshiba chip business.

Yuji Sugimoto said: "Western Digital is still an important partner of the joint venture. Bain Capital will help the two companies resolve legal disputes and promote their common development." However, he also said that even if the dispute can not be resolved in advance, Bain Capital still Plan to complete the transaction.

Toshiba said that the joint venture is only a small part of the chip business, even if it does not count in the joint venture, the company can still sell the entire chip business. Western Digital does not agree with this view.

For Bain Capital, the acquisition of Toshiba’s chip business is part of its aggressive expansion strategy in Japan. Just a few days after announcing the acquisition of Toshiba's chip business, Bain Capital announced that it had bid $1.4 billion to bid for Asatsu-DK, Japan's third-largest advertising agency.