Tokyo/Hong Kong — Toshiba sued Western Digital in a
Japanese court, asking for ¥120bn ($1bn) in damages and seeking to stop
the US company from interfering in the sale of its chip unit.
The litigation, filed on Wednesday in Tokyo District Court, consists of two parts.
Toshiba is seeking to stop Western Digital from making claims with regard to the ownership of the business that Toshiba is trying to sell.
The Japanese company also says Western Digital’s employees improperly obtained proprietary information.
Legal action between Toshiba and Western Digital has been escalating.
Last month, Western Digital invoked an arbitration clause in their business agreement, seeking to block Toshiba’s transfer of ownership of the unit to a separate legal entity in preparation for a sale.
Toshiba, which has since reversed that transfer, then had its lawyers at Morrison & Foerster send a letter to the US company to stop its "harassment" as it tries to sell the memory chip business.
The escalating standoff between the companies over the chip sale could imperil Toshiba’s plans to use cash from the divestment to plug a hole in its balance sheet from a massive loss in its nuclear power business.
Last week, Toshiba said that a consortium led by the Innovation Network of Japan, Bain Capital and other investors were the preferred bidder for the semiconductor business, and it was aiming to reach final agreement and close the deal by March 2018.
Bloomberg
The litigation, filed on Wednesday in Tokyo District Court, consists of two parts.
Toshiba is seeking to stop Western Digital from making claims with regard to the ownership of the business that Toshiba is trying to sell.
The Japanese company also says Western Digital’s employees improperly obtained proprietary information.
Legal action between Toshiba and Western Digital has been escalating.
Last month, Western Digital invoked an arbitration clause in their business agreement, seeking to block Toshiba’s transfer of ownership of the unit to a separate legal entity in preparation for a sale.
Toshiba, which has since reversed that transfer, then had its lawyers at Morrison & Foerster send a letter to the US company to stop its "harassment" as it tries to sell the memory chip business.
The escalating standoff between the companies over the chip sale could imperil Toshiba’s plans to use cash from the divestment to plug a hole in its balance sheet from a massive loss in its nuclear power business.
Last week, Toshiba said that a consortium led by the Innovation Network of Japan, Bain Capital and other investors were the preferred bidder for the semiconductor business, and it was aiming to reach final agreement and close the deal by March 2018.
Bloomberg
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