As a result of the acquisition of a majority share by a group of investors, Toshiba, one of the oldest and largest companies in Japan, is going to bring an end to its 74-year history on the stock market.
The company has made public the fact that a group of investors led by the private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) has acquired 78.65% of the company's shares according to sources.
The fact that the group owns more than two-thirds of the company enables it to successfully finalize a $14 billion (£11.4 billion) agreement to take it private.
The origins of the company may be traced back to 1875, when it began operations as a manufacturer of clocks and mechanical toys.
Under the terms of the agreement, the company's shares may be removed from the stock market as soon as the end of this year.
In a statement, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Toshiba, Taro Shimada, remarked that the business "will now take a major step toward a new future with a new ownership."
When Japan was emerging from the devastation of World War Two (WW2), the Tokyo Stock Exchange reopened in May 1949, and it was when trading of Toshiba's shares first began.
It was a symbol of the country's economic recovery and its technology industry for several decades following World War 2 due to the diversity of its divisions, which span from home electronics to nuclear power stations. However, during the past few years, the corporation with its headquarters in Tokyo has seen a number of significant failures.
According to Gerhard Fasol, chief executive of business advice firm Eurotechnology Japan, "Toshiba's calamity is a consequence of insufficient corporate governance at the top."
In 2015, it acknowledged overstating its profits by more than a $1 billion over a six-year period and paid a 7.37 billion yen fine, which at the time was the largest in the history of the country. This amount is equivalent to $47 million or £38 million.
Two years later, it reported substantial losses at its US nuclear power business, Westinghouse, and took a writedown of 700 billion yen because of these losses.
In 2018, in an effort to prevent going bankrupt, the corporation sold its memory chip business, which was considered to be the crown jewel of the company's portfolio.
Since then, Toshiba has been the target of other takeover bids, including one from the UK private equity group CVC Capital Partners in 2021, which the company ultimately decided to decline.
In the same year, it was discovered that the corporation had conspired with the Japanese government to work against the interests of international investors.
The management revealed their intentions to split the company up into three distinct companies.
Within a few short months, the plan was altered, and the board of directors announced that they would instead split the corporation into two separate entities.
Prior to the revised plan for the firm's separation being implemented, the board of directors stated that they were examining JIP's offer to take the company private.
