Toshiba Corp. said it would divide into two companies and sell noncore assets, scrapping an initial three-way split that faced fierce criticism from activist shareholders.
The Japanese tech giant plans to spin off the devices business — which includes semiconductors — and list it, Toshiba said in a statement Monday in Tokyo. The new plan scraps the earlier intention to separate out its infrastructure operations, which will instead continue to come under Toshiba. Splitting into two companies would be cheaper and smoother than the original plan, it said.
Toshiba also designated Toshiba Tec Corp., its listed electronic equipment business, as a noncore business, it said, though it stopped short of saying it would sell the unit. The company will also use ¥300 billion ($2.6 billion) of excess capital for shareholder returns over two years, it said.