Private Equity Firms Eyeing Toshiba Buyout Face Nuclear Dilemma

  • Business important to national security; government may object
  • Funds may want to sell nuclear unit, but that will be hard
Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg
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It’s the multibillion dollar conundrum facing private equity firms trying to snap up Toshiba Corp.: what to do about the troubled conglomerate’s sensitive nuclear power business.

Toshiba, which had originally opposed a buyout, now plans to solicit proposals from potential investors in a drastic change in stance. The nuclear unit, which is deemed important to Japan’s national security, could be the biggest obstacle to any deal.