China: Toshiba’s US$18b sale of its memory-Chip unit approved

Toshiba said on Thursday, May 17, that Chinesea regulators have approved the US$18 billion sale of its chip unit to a consortium led by US private equity firm Bain Capital, marking the end to a year-long saga surrounding its most prized asset, reports the Wall Street Journal.

A lack of approval by Chinese regulators had held up the deal for months. The delay was widely seen as a sign from Beijing of the ways it could punish American businesses if the Trump administration followed through on threats to impose tariffs on US$150 billion in Chinese-made goods.

In Thursday’s statement, Toshiba said it had received “all required antitrust approvals” for the deal with a consortium led by the United States investment firm Bain Capital. Bain confirmed in its own statement that Chinese authorities had approved the deal.

Chinese officials could not be reached for comment late Thursday and the country’s official media and websites were silent on the matter. The reasons for the approval after the lengthy delay were not immediately clear.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

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