Toshiba to sell Kioxia stake

TOKYO: Toshiba Corp plans to gradually unwind its 40 percent stake in Kioxia Holdings after the world’s second-largest flash memory chip firm lists its shares in an IPO later this year, Reuters reported.

The Japanese industrial conglomerate is considering distributing about half or more of after-tax proceeds from the sale back to shareholders, the sources told Reuters, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

Toshiba said in a filing with the Tokyo stock exchange on Saturday that it was considering various possibilities for shareholder returns, such as the handling of assets and reviewing its portfolio.

The company said nothing has been decided over its stake in Kioxia, the former flash memory chips unit it sold to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital for $18 billion in 2018.

Toshiba bought its Kioxia stake as part of that deal.

The initial public offering of Kioxia could be Japan’s biggest listing this year, sources have said.

Japanese media reports have estimated market valuation to reach $32 billion in an IPO as early as October, although the coronavirus outbreak has created uncertainty over the timing and valuation of the IPO.