Apollo Global Management Inc., Bain Capital and KKR & Co. are among suitors shortlisted in the bidding for Fujitsu Ltd.’s controlling stake in chip packaging unit Shinko Electric Industries Co., people familiar with the matter said.
State-owned Japan Investment Corp. is also pursuing Fujitsu’s 50% holding in Shinko Electric, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. JIC is considering a joint bid and has held discussions about teaming up with potential partners including Dai Nippon Printing Co. and Mitsui Chemicals Inc., the people said.
The next round of bidding is expected to take place as soon as September, the people said. Fujitsu will proceed with the planned sale of its stakes in various units in the “not-too-distant future,” Chief Financial Officer Takeshi Isobe said during an earnings call in July.
Shares of Shinko Electric jumped as much as 7.3% on Thursday, touching their highest level in two months. The stock has risen 77% this year, giving the packaging material maker for semiconductors a market value of nearly $5.7 billion. The stake is valued at close to $2.8 billion.
Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty the suitors will proceed with formal offers, the people said. Bidders may be more conservative in determining a valuation for Shinko Electric due to the national security sensitivities around its business, Bloomberg News has reported. Some bidders are considering offering only a modest premium to the current share price, one of the people said.
Any buyer of Fujitsu’s stake could potentially make an offer for the remaining shares and end up delisting the company, the people said.
A spokesman for Fujitsu said the company is considering various ways to maximize the value of individual companies but nothing has been decided at this point. Representatives for Bain Capital, Dai Nippon Printing, JIC, KKR and Shinko Electric declined to comment, while representatives for Apollo and Mitsui Chemicals didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Fujitsu, which once made everything from laptops and supercomputers to chips, mobile phones and home appliances, has been looking to streamline its businesses and focus on communications and information technology.
Founded in 1946 as a business that recycled household light bulbs, Shinko Electric develops and produces semiconductor packages for electric vehicles, home appliances and industrial equipment, according to its website.
Talks about selling Fujitsu’s stake in Shinko Electric have been engulfed in “more active discussions on economic security involving closer communication with stakeholders,” including the Japanese government, Fujitsu Chief Executive Officer Takahito Tokita said in an interview.
(Updates with share price, market value in fourth paragraph.)
Author: Takako Taniguchi, Manuel Baigorri and Min Jeong Lee
