Toshiba stock surges 6.5% on report of bids at $22-billion valuation

Toshiba shares jumped as much as 6.5 per cent on Thursday after Reuters reported bidders are considering offering up to 7,000 yen per share to take the company private, which would value the deal at about $22 billion.

Toshiba has been soliciting acquisition offers – and other restructuring proposals – as it seeks to end years of mismanagement and mollify activist investors. Ten offers are on the table, including eight to take the company private. The range of pricing and conditions for privatization was widespread, the report said, citing people familiar with the situation. “That suggests that some assets would need to be carved out, or spun out - like Kioxia - and if spun out, that would mean a lower price for the rest of the basket,” analyst Travis Lundy wrote in a note on Smartkarma. There is still a long way to go and the price could well be lowered in the second round of bidding, he added. 

The tech conglomerate’s Tokyo-listed stock closed at 5,501 yen the day prior. Bain Capital, Blackstone Inc and CVC Capital Partners are among the funds considering bids, Bloomberg News has reported.