MELBOURNE (Reuters Breakingviews) – Concise insights on global finance in the Covid-19 era.
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CHIPPING IN. The semiconductor shortage could not have come at a more opportune time for Toshiba. The $16 billion Japanese conglomerate has been facing pressure over strategy and governance concerns from activist shareholders including its largest owner, Effissimo, and U.S. hedge fund Farallon.
On Friday, Toshiba finally set a date for an emergency general meeting Effissimo has demanded to investigate last year’s annual meeting. Reuters and others reported in December that Harvard University’s endowment fund had been put under pressure not to vote.
Toshiba’s decision to relent coincides with Chief Executive Nobuaki Kurumatani unveiling a $200 million operating profit last quarter, double the same period in 2019, in part thanks to chip demand. It comes on the back of a 24% increase in the stock price this year – though its enterprise value of 6.4 times next year’s EBITDA still trails rivals like Fujitsu. A solid performance won’t quell the investor standoff, but at least Kurumatani can argue the business is picking up. (By Antony Currie)
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