Canon Inc. is the leading contender to win the bidding for Toshiba Corp.'s medical unit with an offer exceeding ¥700 billion ($6.2 billion), sources said Wednesday.
The offer puts it ahead of rival bids from Fujifilm Holdings Corp. and a grouping of Konica Minolta Inc. and Permira Holdings Ltd., according to the report.
Toshiba is to consider all three proposals at a board meeting Wednesday, the sources said.
Toshiba said in a statement that it is not the source of the report and that it will hold a board meeting.
Toshiba is selling assets to help pay for the fallout of the biggest accounting scandal in its 140-year history that prompted writedowns and departure of executives.
President Masashi Muromachi is selling the medical unit, cutting jobs and considering a reorganization of its PC and TV operations as the company forecasts a record loss for the fiscal year ending March 31.
Toshiba Medical Systems, the nation's largest medical equipment company, makes diagnostic imaging systems such as MRI, X-ray and ultrasound equipment. The health care division, which includes medical equipment and other businesses that Toshiba does not plan to sell, had sales of ¥409.5 billion in the 12 months ended March 2015 and operating income of ¥23.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.