Move leaves rival Bain in lead position to take Japanese conglomerate private
US private equity firm KKR is stepping back from a potential $22bn bidding war for the future of Toshiba, people familiar with the talks said, leaving its main rival Bain Capital in pole position to pull off Japan’s biggest take-private deal.
KKR’s decision came as Toshiba appeared to descend into further chaos following a historic annual shareholder meeting where representatives of two activist funds were voted on to the board after months of conflict between investors and management.
Apart from KKR, Bain and Blackstone, Baring Private Equity Asia, Brookfield Asset Management, Apollo Global Management, MBK Partners and CVC Capital Partners have also submitted initial bids, people familiar with the process have said. Outside of private equity, the Japanese government-backed fund JIC also took part in the first round of bidding.
Read more: FT
