A potential sale of Toshiba Corp.’s elevator business has attracted preliminary interest from industry players including Chinese conglomerate Midea Group Co. and U.S. giant Otis Worldwide Corp., people familiar with the matter said.
Kone Oyj, which owns 19.9% of Toshiba’s elevator unit, is interested in acquiring the rest of the operation, the people said. TK Elevator GmbH, the German company owned by buyout firms Advent International and Cinven, would also be a suitor if Toshiba goes ahead with a sale, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
Toshiba’s elevator business could fetch about $4 billion (¥480 billion) in a sale, the people said. Considerations are at an early stage and Toshiba hasn’t kicked off any formal sale process, they said. Shareholders will vote Thursday on Toshiba’s plan to split into two companies and sell noncore assets including the elevator operations.