Toshiba president bows abjectly as reluctant investors back Bain deal
Chiba — Toshiba’s president Tuesday apologised "sincerely" over the $18-billion sale of its prized memory chip business, as shareholders demanded answers over the deal seen as pivotal to the survival of one of Japan’s best-known firms. Bowing deeply at the start of a tense shareholders’ meeting, Satoshi Tsunakawa said: "We sincerely apologise for causing problems and worry." More than 600 investors poured into the meeting as they voted in favour of the sale to a consortium led by US investor Bain Capital — which includes US tech giants Apple and Dell as well as South Korean chip maker SK Hynix — after months of wrangling. Angry jeers rang out from some stockholders who had little choice but to agree to unload the division so the cash-strapped company can plug massive losses at its US nuclear division, Westinghouse Electric. Tsunakawa pledged to finish the sale by the end of March 2018 and stressed: "We will continue to have honest management, and improve our internal governance." Th...
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