On Friday, one of Toshiba’s biggest shareholders called on the Japanese corporation to pursue buyout proposals, joining a cacophony of stakeholders who rejected its plan to split itself.
Farallon Capital Management, Toshiba’s third-largest shareholder with a holding of more than 6%, said in a statement that it would reject the management-backed split, calling it a “premature action” because privatization was never carefully considered.
The statement further said that Farallon believes the privatization solution is the most value-maximizing alternative and the only solution Toshiba has to fix its capital allocation issues, governance, and the plummeting levels of trust among shareholders.
Strong opposition
Toshiba’s top stakeholder and two powerful proxy advisory companies expressed opposition to the company’s plan to break up on Thursday, stating that the corporation needs to reestablish confidence with shareholders before moving through with the plan.
Toshiba will conduct an unusual shareholders’ meeting on March 24 to submit its plan to split into two companies to a vote. The plan was drafted following a five-month strategic assessment.
Last month, Toshiba shelved a plan to split into three publicly traded entities, opting instead to split into two. Large stockholders, mainly 3D, were vocal in their opposition to the initial plan.
When it rains, it pours
Instead, the corporation plans to spin out and list its devices division, which includes semiconductors, saying that a two-way split would be less expensive and more efficient than the initial proposal.
Toshiba also announced that it would sell a 55 percent stake in Toshiba Carrier Corp. to its U.S. collaborator Carrier Global Corp. for around 100 billion yen.
Satoshi Tsunakawa, the company’s chief executive officer, departed earlier this month, adding to a tumultuous period for the conglomerate.
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