An array of suitors are lining up bids for the medical business of Japanese industrial conglomerate Toshiba, which is expected to take offers on the unit on January 29.
Toshiba has announced that it intends to sell a majority stake in Toshiba Medical to raise cash in the wake of an accounting scandal. Published reports have indicated that bids are expected by early February, with a buyer expected to be chosen by March. The deal is anticipated to be worth more than $3 billion.
Among the companies preparing bids for Toshiba Medical are Fujifilm Holdings, parent company of Fujifilm Medical Systems, as well as Canon and Konica Minolta, parent firm of Konica Minolta Medical Imaging, according to an article by Reuters.
Other suitors include Mitsui & Co., which might team with investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which already owns 80% of Panasonic, according to an article in Nikkei Asian Review. Sony had been mentioned as a potential bidder, but the Nikkei Asian Review article quoted an unnamed source as saying that the firm most likely would not make a bid. The story also names Hitachi, parent of Hitachi Medical Systems, as another potential suitor.
It's believed that a Japanese firm would have an inside track on the bid due to the Japanese government's preference for keeping control of domestic companies within the country.
