Who will lead Toshiba's motley white knights?

Tokyo

A HASTILY-ASSEMBLED group of investors looks set to win the bid for Toshiba Corp's prized memory chip business, but a lack of clear leadership or industry clout is raising questions about who will take tough decisions about strategy and investment.

After a fiercely contested, months-long auction, Toshiba on Wednesday said a consortium of Japanese government investors and private equity firm Bain Capital was the preferred bidder, aiming to seal a deal worth some US$18 billion by this week.