Japan: Canon deal to buy Toshiba’s medical unit gets green light

Japan’s anti-monopoly regulator has approved Canon acquisition of Toshiba medical equipment unit, but issued a warning over the way they carried out the deal, which antitrust experts have called questionable. Toshiba, hurt by an accounting scandal and in a hurry to raise cash before closing its books for the business year that ended in March, structured the $6.5 billion sale in an unorthodox way so that it could book proceeds before securing approval from regulators.

Some antitrust and accounting experts at the time said the method, involving the issuance of warrants to allow Toshiba to receive cash from Canon before regulatory approval, was problematic though not illegal.

The Fair Trade Commission said on Thursday the method may be in violation of antitrust laws. However it did not issue any fine and approved the deal anyway.

“Canon thought the deal would be approved without problem if they used this method. They didn’t consult with us in advance,” FTC official Takeshi Shinagawa told reporters. “If others use this method in the future they could get the red light.”

Full Content: ItWire

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