With the spark of uncertainty in various global markets after the events of the new year, not even the giants are able to get by unscathed. Toshiba’s board on Friday approved plans to make its core memory chip business a separate company for outside investment. With it goes more than just ownership, but private equity and investments in the specific sectors being split off.
Toshiba’s memory chip business is the world’s biggest NAND flash memory producer after Samsung, and it accounts for the bulk of Toshiba’s operating profits. The sale, however, is looking to sell roughly 20 percent of its holdings for over 200 billion yen. Aiming to complete the sale by the end of the financial year, Toshiba will announce the final figure for the writedown on February 14th when it reports third-quarter results.