为求不摘牌，东芝增发54亿美元新股

东芝公司计划向海外投资者增发价值54亿美元的新股，以凑足避免被退市摘牌所需的大部分资金。这项火线达成的交易既凸显了东芝财务底气不足，也说明了它的芯片部门仍然是有吸引力的。

作为东芝的旗下资产，美国核反应堆制造商西屋电气的破产让东芝背上了数十亿美元的债务，因此东芝必须赶在本财年也就是明年3月之前填平财务的大洞，否则就要面临退市摘牌的危险。而东芝作价180亿美元出售其芯片部门的交易却旷日持久却波折不断，这也意味着东芝拆掉的这座“东墙”还暂时补不了“西墙”。

此次增发决定是在上周日的董事会上决定的，增发额约占东芝股值的35%，增发对象含30余个海外投资者，包括三点对冲基金、绿洲管理公司和博龙资产管理公司等知名机构都将参与其中。

由于东芝在2015年的会计丑闻后被拿下了东京证交所的观察名单，导致日本国内机构难以再对其进行投资，因此此次增发交易是由高盛公司操刀的。

在部分海外投资者看来，就算全球第二大NAND芯片生产商东芝记忆体出售给由贝恩资本领衔的财团的交易失败了，此次认购东芝新股也仍然是一笔值得尝试的投资。

如果东芝记忆体的出售交易最终解决了一系列法律问题并得以实施，那么东芝仍将拥有东芝记忆体40%的股权，因而也就可以对其进行再投资。

“3月份以后，东芝要么保留了40%东芝记忆体的股权，并且多了很多现金在手上；要么它还将继续拥有一项非常不错的业务。”一位参与了此次新股发售的投资者表示。不过这名投资者拒绝透露身份，因为他所在公司的投资细节尚未公开。

东芝计划增发22.8亿股新股，每股价格为262.8日元，发行价比上周五收盘价低10%。

此举将导致东芝的每股收益被稀释达54%之多。不过消息一出，东芝股价却仅仅下跌了5%，收于275日元。这首先是由于公司退市的危险已经基本上解除了，其次也是由于外界已经预见到了东芝将进行资本融资。

由日本“股神”村上世彰的前同事们创办的新加坡Effissimo资本管理公司将凭价11.34%的股权成为东芝最大的股东。Effissimo拒绝对其投资东芝一事进行详细评论。

在此次交易中，东芝公司还要付给高盛、国内经纪商和律师等总额为260亿日元（2320万美元）的高额费用。

除了增发新股外，东芝还打算通过出售西屋电气所有权获得的税收冲销，来填补7500亿日元（67亿美元）的资本缺口。东芝公司还表示计划出售与西屋电气相关的其他资产。

今年9月，曾有消息人士对路透社表示，西屋电气正在与一家名叫PJT Partners的投行接洽出售的事。

该消息人士当时还表示，黑石集团和阿波罗全球管理公司已经强强联合，力争买下西屋电气。而博龙资本则正在与美国核电站零部件供应商BWX科技公司就联合收购展开商谈。

由于东芝记忆体的最终买家迟迟无法确定，因此在3月底前，东芝的这笔交易很有可能无法获得反垄断机构的放行。

东芝的芯片业务合资伙伴西部数据公司此次在拍卖中被踢到了一边。该公司也公开表示，没有它的许可，东芝的任何单边交易都不作数。该公司甚至请求一个国际仲裁法庭强行叫停这笔交易。

东芝则要求西部数据公司撤诉，以此作为允许其投资东芝的一条新闪存生产线的条件。

据熟悉内情的消息人士称，上周，这两家公司在美国进行了谈判，以就此事进行和解，但双方仍未就细节达成协议。

法国里昂证券分析师克劳迪奥·阿里托米指出：“之前东芝可以说是被西部数据公司拿枪指着，因为东芝正面临着摘牌的风险，所以西部数据公司才如此咄咄逼人。但现在东芝的摘牌风险减退了，所以谈判的天平又开始倾向东芝这边了。”（财富中文网）

译者：贾政景

Toshiba Corp’s (TOSBF, -4.55%) planned $5.4 billion new share issue to overseas investors is set to provide it with most of the funds it needs to avoid a delisting—a quickly arranged deal that underscores both the weakness of its finances and the allure of its chips unit.

Burdened by billions of dollars in liabilities at its bankrupt U.S. nuclear reactor maker Westinghouse, Toshiba has been seeking to make up the difference by the end of the financial year in March or face a delisting. A long and contentious auction for its $18 billion chip unit has meant it cannot rely on those funds coming in on time.

The share issue, decided at a board meeting on Sunday, is equivalent to a 35% stake in the embattled Japanese conglomerate and will see more than 30 overseas investors, including Third Point LLC (TPRE, +0.91%), Oasis Management Company and Cerberus Capital Management, take part.

The deal, engineered by Goldman Sachs (GS, +0.02%), was structured for overseas investors as Toshiba has only recently come off a Tokyo Stock Exchange watchlist it had been on after a 2015 accounting scandal, making it difficult for domestic firms to invest.

For some of the overseas investors, it is an investment that will work out even if the agreed sale of Toshiba Memory, the world’s number two producer of NAND chips, to a consortium led by Bain Capital falls through.

And if the sale manages to survive legal challenges and goes ahead, Toshiba will still own 40% in the semiconductor unit as it plans to reinvest.

“Either after March you have a company with a 40% stake in Toshiba Memory and a lot of cash in hand, or you have a company that continues to own a great business,” said an investor who participated in the share sale, declining to be identified as details of his firm’s investment have not been made public.

Toshiba plans to sell 2.28 billion new shares at 262.8 yen per share, a 10% discount to Friday’s close.

The move will result in a massive 54% dilution in earnings per share. Toshiba‘s shares, however, ended down just 5% at 275 yen as the risk of a delisting has largely been removed and as the capital raising had been expected.

Singapore-based fund Effissimo Capital Management, established by former colleagues of Japan’s best-known activist investor, Yoshiaki Murakami, will become the largest shareholder in Toshiba with an 11.34% stake. Effissimo declined to comment specifically on its investment in Toshiba.

The new share deal will see Toshiba pay a hefty 26 billion yen ($232 million) in combined fees to Goldman, domestic brokers and to lawyers.

In addition to the new share issue, Toshiba is aiming to plug its 750 billion yen ($6.7 billion) equity shortfall with tax write-offs it plans to gain from the expected sale of claims it has against Westinghouse. It also said it is looking at selling its Westinghouse-related assets.

Sources told Reuters in September that Westinghouse is working with investment bank PJT Partners Inc on a sale process.

Private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Apollo Global Management LLC have teamed up to bid for the business while Cerberus Capital Management LP was in talks with U.S. nuclear power plant component provider BWX Technologies Inc (BWXT, +0.33%) about submitting a joint bid, the sources said at the time.

Delays in deciding on the buyer for the chip unit have meant that Toshiba may not obtain the necessary anti-trust clearance by the end of March.

Toshiba‘s chip joint venture partner Western Digital, which was spurned in the auction, also argues no deal can proceed without its consent and has sought an injunction through an international arbitration court.

Toshiba is demanding that Western Digital drop the litigation as a condition for the U.S. firm to invest in a new flash-memory chip production line.

The two companies held talks in the United States last week to settle the issue but have yet to agree on details, sources familiar with the matter said.

“Toshiba has had a gun pointed at it by Western Digital and that has been working because Toshiba was facing the risk of being delisted, but now they aren’t. So the negotiation power changes in favor of Toshiba now,” said Claudio Aritomi, an analyst at CLSA.