Toshiba seeking 1 trillion yen for stake in chip unit: source

Tokyo

TOSHIBA Corp wants to raise at least one trillion yen (S$12.5 billion) from the sale of a majority stake in its flash memory chip business as a buffer against any fresh financial problems, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

After flagging a US$6.3 billion write-down on its US nuclear unit earlier this month, the conglomerate says it is now prepared to sell a majority stake or even all of the NAND memory unit, which makes chips for mobiles and tablets and is its most valuable business. Previously it had planned to sell 19.9 per cent.