14 april 2021
10:58
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Nobuaki Kurumatani is stepping down as CEO of the Japanese industrial group Toshiba. That is under siege by activist shareholders.
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British investment company CVC made a $ 20 billion offer for Toshiba last week. It is suspected that CVC was invited to do so by the Toshiba CEO, who wanted to get rid of the activist shareholders who have been making his life miserable for some time. Before taking the helm in 2018, Kurumatani (63) led CVC’s operations in Japan.
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According to some sources, Toshiba’s board of directors was not pleased with the CVC offer and has withdrawn its confidence in Kurumatani. This is denied in official communication. In a statement read at an online press conference, Kurumatani says he wants to spend more time with his family now that his mission to revive Toshiba has been completed.
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Toshiba has been adrift for some time, following an accounting scandal and a dramatically failed takeover of its nuclear division.
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The board of directors has appointed Satoshi Tsunakawa (65) as its new CEO. This led the company until 2018, when Kurumatani succeeded him. Tsunakawa hopes to hand over his mandate quickly to the younger figure and says he wants to work on better relations with the activist shareholders.
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It is still unclear how the switch at the Toshiba top will affect CVC’s offer, one of the largest ever buyouts in Japan.
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Up operation
Toshiba has been adrift for some time, following an accounting scandal and a dramatically failed takeover of its nuclear division. It was targeted by activist shareholders. They want the management of Toshiba, which has a variety of activities, to clean up and divest divisions in order to boost profitability.
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Tsunakawa opened the door at Toshiba to activist shareholders through a major new stock issue in 2018.
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Toshiba has a very diversified shareholding. The largest individual shareholder, with a 10 percent stake, is the Singaporean activist fund Effissimo.
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