Toshiba (TYO:6502) said today that it’s planning to ditch or transfer all of its healthcare business that’s not a part of Toshiba Medical Systems, its imaging division, and forecast higher losses for the rest of the year.
A bidding war for Toshiba Medical is heating up among a slew of private equity players and rival corporations, as the Japanese industrial conglomerate seeks outside investors to buy a controlling share in the business. Today Toshiba said it would either shut down or transfer all of its other healthcare businesses by the end of March.
The heavy-ion radiotherapy and genotyping & gene sequencing service businesses are slated to be moved to other divisions, the company said.
“The future of other businesses, such as wristband-type biosensors, and their transfer within or outside Toshiba Group, is still under consideration,” Toshiba said. A final decision is due by the end of March, which is the close of the company’s fiscal year.
Part of the move means an early retirement plan for about 90 Japanese workers, including 40 with 10 or more years at Toshiba under their belts. The restructuring is expected to cost ¥1 billion ($8.5 million) during fiscal 2015.
Toshiba, which is facing mounting restructuring costs after a $1.3 billion accounting scandal, said it now expects a net loss of ¥710 billion ($6.04 billion), compared with a previously expected loss of ¥550 billion ($4.68 billion).
CEO Masashi Muromachi told a press conference that Toshiba had lowered its expectations to fully reflect possible downside risks to its business and pledged to accelerate restructuring efforts, announcing an additional 240 job cuts or replacements on top of some 10,000 already announced.
He also reiterated plans to sell Toshiba’s loss-making laptops and home appliances businesses. Muromachi said he could not rule out a possible deal with Sharp Corp (TYO:6753) for the home appliances unit even after it chose Taiwan’s Foxconn, known formally as Hon Hai Precision Industry, as its preferred bidder in takeover talks. He also said a foreign manufacturer could be the buyer.
$1=¥117.605
Material from Reuters was used in this report.