Toshiba Reportedly Agrees To Sell Memory Chip Unit To Bain Group

(RTTNews) - Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp.(TOSYY.PK, TOSBF.PK) has agreed to sell its flash memory chip unit to a group led by Bain Capital, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter.

The Bain consortium includes backing from Apple Inc. and Dell Inc.. The iPhone maker played a crucial role in swinging momentum in the auction to the Bain offer and plans to contribute capital. The Bain group had previously offered 2.1 trillion yen or $19 billion for the unit, the reports said.

Toshiba is selling off its chips business to pay for losses in its U.S. nuclear business. The company needs to raise the money by March to avoid seeing its shares delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The auction has been complicated by legal action from Western Digital, which has argued it should have veto rights in any sale because of its partnership with Toshiba in the chips business. The Japanese company disputes that and sued Western Digital for more than $1 billion for interfering in the auction.