Toshiba Said to Plan Selling Chip Unit Stake to Multiple Buyers

Toshiba Corp. is planning to split the sale of a stake in its chip unit among several investors, including Canon Inc. and private equity funds, a person familiar with the matter said.

The conglomerate aims to retain control over the memory chip operations after selling a 20 to 30 percent stake and bringing in multiple investors would help with that goal, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. Western Digital Corp., a partner in Toshiba’s chip business, probably won’t participate due to antitrust concerns, the person said. Toshiba’s board will discuss the sale at a meeting on Friday with the goal of deciding on buyers next month and completing the payment in March, the person said. The talks are still at an early stage so the size of the sale and the number of investors may still change.