(Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Corp. granted a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc. preferred bidder status for a buyout of the iconic Japanese firm, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Private equity firm JIP was looking to acquire Toshiba in partnership with multiple domestic companies including Orix Corp. and Chubu Electric Power Co., the people said. Toshiba considered that a sale to JIP would keep the company as one entity, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
Deliberations are ongoing and no final decision has been made, the people said. Other bidders remain interested in the assets, they added. Midori Hara, a spokeswoman for Toshiba, declined to comment on the matter, saying to do so may undermine a fair process. JIP wasn’t immediately available to comment. more on this here