Toshiba Corp. shares rose sharply Friday morning after it agreed to a $15 billion takeover proposal made by a consortium led by Tokyo-based private-equity firm Japan Industrial Partners Inc.
The shares were recently 5.3% higher at 4,438 yen after rising as much as 6.4% earlier.
Toshiba said late Thursday that a Japan Industrial Partners-led group planned to buy all outstanding shares for Y1.999 trillion ($15.28 billion) and aimed to start a tender offer process in late July after obtaining regulatory approvals.
The tender offer price is Y4,620 a share, compared with the closing price on Thursday of Y4,213.
Jefferies analysts Atul Goyal and Shingo Ito said in a research note that uncertainty remains over regulatory approval given Toshiba’s ties to national security. The analysts said they believe that the stock should trade at a discount of about 5% to the tender offer price until the buyer group gets all regulatory approvals.
Toshiba said that while the board unanimously agreed to accept the buyout proposal, the price wasn’t high enough to make an immediate recommendation to shareholders on whether they should sell their shares to the buyout group.
The industrial company said a special committee would discuss whether to make a recommendation to shareholders.