Rohm and Suzuki Motors have participated in JIP's proposal to acquire Toshiba

Japanese chipmaker Rohm and automaker Suzuki Motors have participated in a proposal by Japanese private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) to acquire Toshiba. Founded in July 1875, Toshiba is Japan's largest semiconductor maker and second-largest integrated motor maker and is part of the Mitsui Group, which is seeking a takeover bid to take Toshiba private.

A consortium led by Japanese private equity firm JIP, a consortium led by Japan Investment Corp (JIC), an investment fund backed by the Japanese government, Bain Capital, CVC Capital Partners, MBK Partners, and Brookfield Asset Management Companies is preparing to bid for Toshiba.

JIP has invited Chubu Electric Power Co., financial services giant Orix Corp., Nippon Life Insurance Co., Toray Industries, Ltd. ) and Tokai Passenger Railway (Central Japan Railway Co.), and more than 10 companies to join its consortium. Previously, a consortium led by JIP had secured Toshiba's preferred bidder status. On Oct. 18, two sources said the preferred bidder for Toshiba had bid below the widely believed threshold of 6,000 yen per share, putting the value of the potential bid below 2.6 trillion yen, suggesting a premium for Toshiba. Probably not as high as investors expected.

Earlier this month, foreign media reported that JIP had submitted a proposal to acquire Toshiba for 2.2 trillion yen (about 15 billion U.S. dollars). While JIP has submitted a proposal to buy Toshiba, it has yet to receive loan commitment letters from financial institutions, raising questions about the success of the proposal. If Toshiba accepts JIP's offer, JIP plans to complete financing by the end of November.

Rohm and Suzuki Motors have participated in JIP's proposal to acquire Toshiba. Japanese media quoted multiple sources as saying that Rohm will invest about 300 billion yen ($2.14 billion), while Suzuki will invest tens of billions of yen. However, a Rohm spokesman said the company was considering joining the JIP consortium in its bid for Toshiba but had not made any decisions, including the alleged investment amount.