Toshiba hope for private equity interest in buying firm, shares jump

Bain has sounded out multiple other Toshiba shareholders about teaming up as it prepares to make a buyout offer.

Investors sent Toshiba Corp shares sharply higher on Friday as they bet the Japanese conglomerate could become the target of a bidding war after Bain Capital sounded out shareholders about a possible buyout.

The stock jumped 6.7% in morning Tokyo trade on expectations that global private equity firms could be lining up to take the embattled company private. Its top shareholder, Singapore-based Effissimo Capital Management, said in a filing on Thursday that it had agreed to sell its 9.9% stake to Bain if the U.S. private equity firm launched a tender offer.

Bain has sounded out multiple other Toshiba shareholders about teaming