Toshiba to start taking bids in June for its Swiss unit Landis+Gyr

[TOKYO] Japan's Toshiba Corp will start taking bids for Landis+Gyr, its Swiss smart meter unit, as early as June, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.

Hitachi Ltd and other Japanese firms are seen as possible bidders for the unit, Kyodo said, without citing sources.

Reuters last month reported that Toshiba had hired UBS to explore a sale or an initial public offering of the business, potentially valued at over US$2 billion.

Toshiba is targeting buyout groups such as Carlyle, Cinven, Advent, Blackstone, Bain, Onex , Triton, CD&R and even former owner KKR, a person close to the matter said.

A Toshiba spokesman did not have an immediate comment on the report.

REUTERS