Toshiba says not aware Westinghouse considering Chapter 11 filing

[TOKYO] Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp said on Friday it was not aware that its US nuclear unit Westinghouse was considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Nikkei business daily reported earlier that a Chapter 11 filing was one of the options that Toshiba was considering.

A Chapter 11 filing could help Toshiba draw a line under a decade-long US nuclear venture that has pushed the Japanese group to the brink, forcing it to offer a majority stake in its chips business to cover a US$6.3 billion nuclear writedown.

Bankruptcy protection, however, could be a complex proposition for Toshiba, which has guaranteed as much as 793.5 billion yen (US$7 billion) to cover almost 90 per cent of potential liabilities due to Westinghouse's AP1000 reactors customer in the United States.

The Toshiba spokesman said he was unsure how any bankruptcy filing by the US business would affect that commitment.

REUTERS