Japan's Toshiba[1] is locked in last minute discussions over "key issues" with the would-be buyers of its $18 (roughly Rs. 1,14,817 crores) billion memory chip business led by US private equity firm Bain, potentially delaying a formal agreement on the sale.
Toshiba said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell the prized unit to the Bain consortium[2], and had been expected to formalise the sale on Thursday.
Instead, South Korea's SK Hynix, part of the winning consortium, said talks were still ongoing. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed consortium members were still wrangling over details of their agreement and said commitment letters from all participants were still needed before the sale could be signed formally.
"There are some key issues still to be agreed upon in the content approved by Toshiba's board," the South Korean chipmaker said in a statement, adding that it would continue talks.
Toshiba and Bain did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Adding to uncertainty, jilted suitor and Toshiba joint venture partner Western Digital[3] took fresh legal action overnight, filing new arbitration requests to stop Toshiba investing in a new flash memory production line without its help.
Shares in Toshiba reflected the concerns, falling more than 2 percent in late afternoon trade.
Struggling to plug a yawning balance sheet hole after a cost blow-out at its now-bankrupt US nuclear business, Toshiba has been trying to sell its chip business since late January.
Agreeing the sale of the world's second-largest producer of NAND flash memory chips brings the group closer to the end of a tangled and fraught process.
As late as Tuesday night, sources said Toshiba was leaning towards selling the business to Western...