After receiving an unsolicited acquisition offer from the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, Toshiba’s CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani has stepped down from his role at the company.
Kurumatani stands out from past chief executives at the Japanese technology firm due to the fact that he was the first CEO appointed from outside the company in 53 years according to a report from Nikkei. Before taking over the reigns at Toshiba, he served as the deputy president at Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
While Toshiba has yet to accept CVC’s offer, the private equity firm is reportedly prepared to pay a 30 percent premium over the company’s share price by paying close to $20bn for it.
In a statement released by the company following the offer, Toshiba said that it would “ask for further clarification and give it careful consideration”.
Executive shakeup
Kurumatani’s resignation comes after Toshiba’s shareholders called for an independent investigation to determine whether or not allegations are true that the company’s investors were pressured into voting in favor to reappoint him as CEO at its annual general meeting last year.
Toshiba’s current chairman Satoshi Tsunakawa will take over for Kurumatani as the company’s new CEO immediately. This is a fitting choice as Tsunakawa was CEO of the company before Kurumatani was appointed to the role last year.
What the future holds for Toshiba is unclear but in the summer of 2020, the company officially quit the laptop business after 35 years when it sold its remaining stake in Dynabook to Sharp.
Via ZDNet