Toshiba Corp (6502.T) shareholders voted in two board directors from activist hedge fund investors at its annual general meeting on Tuesday.
To date only a few large Japanese companies have brought activist shareholders onto their boards.
Farallon and Elliott together hold about 10% of Toshiba and activist shareholders are estimated to own roughly a quarter of the company’s stock.
Which sees Toshiba’s nuclear and defence technology as a strategic asset – to block overseas investors from gaining influence at its 2020 shareholder meeting.
The appointments of Bhanji and Imai were not without controversy with one board member publicly expressing concern; that the board may become too skewed towards the input of activist investors. For capital alliances that would see it remain listed.
KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N), Baring Private Equity Asia, Blackstone Inc (BX.N), Bain Capital, Brookfield Asset Management (BAMa.TO), MBK Partners, Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners have submitted initial bids, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
Some of them may form consortia for a bid, they added.
Shares in Toshiba turned positive on the news, trading 0.8% higher at 5,750 yen in early afternoon trade.
-Reuters.
