Toshiba considering IPO for memory chip unit if $18 bn sale fails: Reports

If the deal fails to win regulatory approval by March 31, Toshiba is free to walk away

Toshiba Corp is considering an IPO of its prized memory chip business if an agreed $18 billion sale to a Bain Capital-led consortium fails to gain antitrust approval by the end of March, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The IPO is one of various contingency plans being looked at by Toshiba's top executives, the FT said, citing people familiar with the plans. It added that some analysts and Toshiba shareholders favour it over the existing deal.

Toshiba agreed last September to sell Toshiba Memory, the world's second-biggest producer of NAND chips, to a consortium led by Bain to cover billions of