Toshiba’s preferred bidder may lower valuation below 2 trillion yen – Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), the preferred bidder to buy out Toshiba Corp, may lower the valuation from the planned 2.2 trillion yen ($16.09 billion) to levels below 2 trillion yen, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

Even though JIP has secured funding worth 1 trillion yen in equity from domestic companies and 1.2 trillion yen in loans from major banks, it may cut the valuation in light of a recent deterioration in Toshiba’s earnings and the need for post-buyout working capital, the Nikkei said.

Toshiba said in a letter to shareholders on Friday that it was aiming to reach a conclusion with potential partners as soon as possible.

It is “planning to receive binding and bona-fide proposal(s) and shall be making strong efforts to arrive at a conclusion as early as possible after necessary negotiations,” the letter said.

($1 = 136.6900 yen)

(Reporting by Tokyo Newsroom; Editing by Angus MacSwan)