Tokyo — Toshiba has chosen a consortium of Bain Capital and Japanese government investors as the preferred bidder for its chip business, aiming to seal a deal worth about $18bn by next week as it scrambles for funds to cover massive losses. But prospects for a clean early resolution to the sale of the world’s No 2 producer of Nand flash chips remain unclear as Western Digital, Toshiba’s chips business partner, has launched legal action to prevent a deal without its consent. The consortium has offered about ¥2-trillion, a Toshiba spokesman said. Bain plans to be the biggest investor, providing ¥850bn ($7.7bn) in equity, three sources briefed on the matter said. The bid was less than a rival ¥2.2-trillion offer from US chip maker Broadcom and its partner, US private equity firm Silver Lake. It was also hastily put together but has the implicit stamp of approval from the Japanese government which is keen to keep key semiconductor technology under domestic control. Toshiba cannot afford...
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