Toshiba Seeks $5.4 Billion Cash Injection to Avoid Delisting

Toshiba plans to sell shares to raise 600 billion yen ($5.4 billion) and will explore a divestment of its Westinghouse-related assets in a bid to avoid being removed from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, according to Bloomberg.

Selling its holding in and its claims against nuclear-power business Westinghouse will let Toshiba “significantly reduce“ resources required to rehabilitate that unit, funds that can be focused on new businesses, the company said. With the cash from a successful share sale, Toshiba expects that the consolidated negative 750 billion yen on its balance sheet will be erased by the end of the fiscal year in March.

The Japanese company is clawing its way back after an accounting scandal in 2015 that was followed by a multibillion-dollar loss in its nuclear operations in the U.S. Toshiba has been under pressure to raise money, or see its shares delisted. The company is in the process of selling its chip unit to raise funds, but feared the deal wouldn’t be completed by the end of March as it needs to clear competition laws in different countries.

Toshiba is selling its memory chip unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital. The sale has been complicated by legal action from Western Digital, which has argued it should have veto rights because of its partnership with Toshiba. The two sides are currently in binding arbitration talks. They aim to reach an agreement by the end of the month, Jiji reported Sunday.

Private equity firms Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management have teamed up to bid on Westinghouse unit and others are considering offers, people familiar with the situation said in September. The nuclear unit, which was contracted to build two power projects in the U.S. that were both billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule, filed for bankruptcy in March.