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☆ Dali container removal will take weeks, a key to Port of Baltimore reopening
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command image of response crews remove shipping containers using a floating crane barge after the cargo ship Dali struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, on April 7, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. CSX was the first rail to start a rail service for diverted containers resulting from the accident and closure of the Port of Baltimore. Once the Dali is refloated and no longer listing, tugs will move the vessel to the CSX terminal at the Port of Baltimore. "Once you see plans of moving the Dali away from the port, that's when you know the channel is ready to be open," Roth said. The size of vessels the Coast Guard is allowing is 96 feet in length, compared to the 984-foot-long Dali, the vessel that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge after losing navigational control and destroyed the key piece of infrastructure.

Persons: Dali, Francis Scott Key, JIC, Aaron Roth, Roth Organizations: Bethlehem Steel, Unified Command, Synergy Marine, U.S . Coast Guard, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Department of, Environment, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland State Police, Center, CNBC, Port, CSX, Coast Guard, Chertoff Group, Guard, Francis Scott Key Bridge, Department of Defense, Dover Air Force Base Locations: Baltimore , Maryland, Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, Port of Baltimore

☆ Baltimore bridge collapse reveals a gap in federal government port protection powers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tugboats guide the Maersk Atlanta container ship at the Port of Newark in Newark, New Jersey, US, on Saturday, March 30, 2024. As the Dali container ship neared the Francis Scott Key Bridge after losing power and with no ability to navigate, there were no tug boats to guide it. It is unclear if the tugs remained with the Dali, a collision could have been averted. But maritime experts say that new tugboat regulation would be a reasonable response for the government to consider. The next day, the Coast Guard referred CNBC to the Joint Information Center (JIC) for the Key Bridge Casualty 2024 incident in Baltimore.

Persons: Dali, Francis Scott Key Organizations: Maersk, Port, Francis Scott Key Bridge, CNBC, Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, U.S . Coast Guard, Coast Guard, Joint Information Center, U.S . Immigration, Customs, . Customs, Border Patrol Locations: Maersk Atlanta, Newark, Newark , New Jersey, US, Port of Baltimore, Baltimore

☆ Japan is seen as an 'investable' market again: JIC CIO
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailJapan is seen as an 'investable' market again: JIC CIOJapan Investment Corporation CIO Toshiyuki Kumura says he anticipates an increase in foreign capital flows into Japan's startups.

Persons: Toshiyuki Kumura Organizations: Japan, Corporation

☆ Kioxia has reached out to JIC to invest in merger with Western Digital - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Japanese chipmaker Kioxia's products are displayed at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Kioxia Holdings has reached out to state-backed Japan Industrial Partners (JIC) to invest in a planned merger of its flash memory business with that of Western Digital, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Japan's top banks are set to commit to 1.9 trillion yen ($12.67 billion) in financing to support the merger, Reuters reported on Thursday. read more($1 = 149.9400 yen)Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Rocky Swift, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Kioxia Holdings, Japan Industrial Partners, Western Digital, Bloomberg, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

"When we're 50% foreign owned that gives people pause within Japan," Johnson said in an interview. Companies often view the presence of an activist investor as a challenge to their strategy or a factor that could delay execution of their plans. The activist investor previously praised JSR's "fact-based decision making" and said it supports the sale to JIC. "But that doesn't contribute to the Japanese semiconductor materials industry overall," he said. "I don't think they're being imaginative enough ... there's a wide range of materials expertise in Japan," Johnson said.

Persons: Eric Johnson, Johnson, ValueAct, JSR's, Atsushi Ikeda, Goldman Sachs, Ikeda, Yuta, JSR, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Makiko Yamazaki, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Stephen Coates Organizations: JSR, Japan Investment Corp, Samsung, Intel, ValueAct, Companies, Citigroup, Svea, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, American, Japan, there's

TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) - State-backed Japan Investment Corp (JIC) sees potential for more mergers and acquisitions in high-end corners of the chipmaking industry following its planned $6.4 billion buyout of materials maker JSR (4185.T), the head of its private equity arm said. "We see potential in some speciality materials markets where JSR can win dominant positions by combining with other materials makers," Ikeuchi said in an interview. "We believe that we can boost Japanese chip materials makers' global competitiveness by spurring industry consolidation," he added. In the chemicals industry, for example, Japan has "too many players making similar products that were once competitive but are now commoditised," Ikeuchi said. JIC, overseen by the powerful trade ministry, was set up in 2018 to invest in Japanese companies to boost the nation's competitiveness.

Persons: Shogo, Ikeuchi, JIC, Makiko Yamazaki, Ritsuko Shimizu, Jamie Freed Organizations: Japan Investment Corp, JIC Capital, Japan, Innovation Network Corp of Japan, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, chipmaking, Japan

HONG KONG, June 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A government-led buyout signals more uncertainty ahead for a chip industry grappling with oversupply and geopolitics. The state-backed Japan Investment Corp will take over JSR (4185.T), which makes light-sensitive chemicals vital to manufacturing semiconductors, among other things. In recent years, the conglomerate has pivoted from a low-margin business of selling synthetic rubber used to make tyres to focus on semiconductor materials - primarily photoresists - and biopharmaceuticals. Yet JIC's mandate to boost the country’s global competitiveness and its focus on consolidating industries helps to justify the hefty premium. Either way, the government's focus on elevating national chipmaking champions creates fresh uncertainty for JSR's foreign customers like South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (2330.TW).

Persons: Sharp, Eric Johnson, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Japan Investment Corp, Renesas Electronics, chipmakers, Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Japan Investment Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Development Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Tokyo, Taiwan, Japan, United States, South Korea, South

☆ Shares in Japan's JSR untraded on surprise possible buyout
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Sam Nussey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JSR's market capitalisation was 677 billion yen ($4.71 billion) at Friday's market close. JIC would spend about 1 trillion yen on the acquisition, the Nikkei newspaper reported, injecting 500 billion yen into a new company to make the purchase and borrowing 400 billion yen from Mizuho Bank. JSR is a top supplier of photoresists, which are light-sensitive chemicals used to print patterns on wafers, to global chipmakers. JSR, which was set up in 1957 as a government-backed producer of synthetic rubber, reported a 20% jump in sales to 408.9 billion yen in the year ended March, while operating profit declined 33% to 29.4 billion yen. Shares in JSR, which unusually for a Japanese company has a foreign-born CEO, have gained 25% year-to-date.

Persons: JIC, Travis Lundy, Sam Nussey, Jamie Freed Organizations: JSR, Japan Investment Corp, Nikkei, Mizuho Bank, JIC, Quiddity Advisors, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, China, United States, Japan, Tokyo

☆ Japan-backed fund to buy critical semiconductor firm JSR for $6.3 billion as chip tensions rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Japanese Investment Corporation (JIC) proposed a $6.3 billion buyout of JSR, one of Japan's most critical chip firms. The Japanese Investment Corporation proposed an offer of 4,350 Japanese yen ($30.3) per share to buy JSR, marking a 35% premium to Friday's closing price. A fund backed by the Japanese government on Monday proposed a $6.3 billion acquisition of semiconductor material giant JSR , underscoring the strategic emphasis governments around the world are putting on the critical technology of chips. Countries such as the Netherlands, home to a critical chip firm called ASML, as well as Japan, followed suit with similar restrictions. "JIC's investment in JSR means that the government might have a higher say over its decisions," Kotasthane said.

Persons: JIC, Kotasthane Organizations: Japanese Investment Corporation, JSR, Takshashila, CNBC, U.S Locations: Japan, China, Netherlands

☆ Factbox: Japan ramps up efforts to strengthen its chip industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Below are investments in Japan announced by chipmakers and measures the government is taking to revive its semiconductor industry. Sony Group (6758.T) and auto parts maker Denso (6902.T), which will use the chips TSMC makes, are also investors. It said it would be the first chipmaker to bring EUV technology to Japan for production. It has offered TSMC a 476 billion yen subsidy, or about half the expected cost of the factory. Rapidus secured an initial 70 billion yen of funding from the government, and local media reported in April that the government was finalising a plan to provide an additional 300 billion yen.

Persons: TW, Rapidus, JIC, Makiko Yamazaki, Sam Nussey, Tim Kelly, Miho Uranaka, Miyoung Kim, Jamie Freed Organizations: Semiconductor, chipmakers, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Sony Group, Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics, Reuters, Business Machines, IBM, Samsung, Nikon, Tokyo, Japan Investment Corp, Innovation Network Corp of Japan, Toshiba, Japan Industrial Partners, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, Kyushu, Denso, KS, Yokohama, Japan's, Chitose, Hokkaido, Rapidus, U.S, China, State

June 27 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. Wall Street closed in the red on Monday - the Nasdaq shed more than 1% for the third trading day in four - and the U.S. yield curve inversion accelerated to near-historic levels. But inflation and policy concerns are driving sentiment more than geopolitical fears. The Bank for International Settlements on Sunday called for more rate hikes, warning the world economy is at a crucial juncture in the fight against inflation. The International Monetary Fund's Gita Gopinath said on Monday investors may be overly optimistic on the speed and cost of taming inflation.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Gita Gopinath Organizations: Kremlin, Nasdaq, Swiss, Bank for International, U.S, JSR, Japan Investment Corp, ECB, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Russian, U.S, Japan, Canada, Sintra, Portugal

☆ Japan Investment Corp in $7 billion deal talks with chipmaker JSR, Nikkei reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 24 (Reuters) - State-backed Japan Investment Corp is in talks to buy the country's top chipmaker, JSR Corp (4185.T), for about 1 trillion yen ($6.96 billion), the Nikkei reported on Saturday. If the deal goes through, JSR would delist from the Tokyo Stock Exchange as soon as 2024, according to Nikkei. To purchase JSR, JIC intends to establish a new company with 500 billion yen in capital, while Mizuho Bank will provide another 400 billion yen in finance. The fund plans to raise 100 billion yen via preferred shares and subordinated loans underwritten by various banks, according to Nikkei. The deal would grant JSR, with its significant 30% share of the global photoresist market, greater freedom for expansion, without being constrained by worries about stock market performance, Nikkei said.

Persons: JIC, Riya Sharma, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Japan Investment Corp, JSR, Nikkei, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Mizuho Bank, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Japan's Hitachi Astemo flags lapses in quality tests over decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The comments come in the wake of news last month that Toyota affiliate Daihatsu rigged safety tests for 88,000 small cars. Hitachi Astemo, which makes car and railway parts ranging from brake and damping systems to powertrains, worked with customers to redo tests on nearly 24 affected products following an investigation, Chief Executive Brice Koch told reporters. "We have now taken all the relevant measures to improve, to increase the robustness of our system and our company," Koch said, saying he did not expect any impact on growth or costs. The issues included reporting periodic test results to customers without running the actual tests on some products. Employees also ran tests on suspension systems at incorrect temperatures, a spokesperson said.

☆ Toshiba board accepts Japan Industrial Partners' $15 bln buyout proposal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, March 23 (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp's (6502.T) board has accepted a buyout offer from a group led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners, valuing the company at 2 trillion yen ($15.2 billion), the company said on Thursday. [1/2] The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen at the company's facility in Kawasaki, Japan June 10, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo 1 2The fallout from that debacle eventually led to the strategic review and the buyout proposal. Toshiba started an auction process about a year ago, receiving eight initial buyout proposals as well as two offers for capital alliances. The JIP consortium last month submitted a binding buyout proposal backed by $10.6 billion in loan commitments from major banks.

☆ The long-running crisis at Japan's Toshiba
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Faced with more than $6 billion in liabilities linked to Westinghouse, Toshiba decides to put prized chip unit Toshiba Memory up for sale. Nov. 2021 - Toshiba says it will split into three companies, one for energy, one for infrastructure and the third to manage its Kioxia stake. Feb. 2022 - Toshiba announces a new plan to split into two, spinning off only its devices unit. April 2022 - Toshiba sets up a special committee to resume a strategic review that could see it taken private. Under pressure from shareholders, Toshiba announces a special dividend of some $545 million.

☆ Toshiba board accepts Japan Industrial Partners' $15 billion buyout proposal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Toshiba Corp's board has accepted a buyout offer from a group led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners, valuing the company at 2 trillion yen ($15.2 billion), the company said on Thursday. A successful deal would see the scandal-ridden industrial conglomerate taken private and firmly in domestic hands after much tension with overseas activist shareholders. Some 20 Japanese companies including financial services firm Orix Corp, chipmaker Rohm Co <6963.T> and Chubu Electric Power plan to take part in the deal, sources have said. Toshiba started an auction process about a year ago, receiving eight initial buyout proposals as well as two offers for capital alliances. The JIP consortium last month submitted a binding buyout proposal backed by $10.6 billion in loan commitments from major banks.

TOKYO/HONG KONG, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Japan Industrial Partners, the preferred bidder to buy out Toshiba Corp (6502.T), has moved closer to securing financing from banks, three people with knowledge of the matter said. JIP's bid has called for Toshiba management to retain their jobs - a proposal which initially made some of the banks cautious about lending, sources have said. The sources all declined to be identified as the talks are private. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, the core unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T), and Mizuho Bank Ltd, the core unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc (8411.T) declined to comment. ($1 = 137.0500 yen)Reporting by Kane Wu, Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan's Toshiba slashes profit outlook after second-quarter slump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp (6502.T) on Friday cut its full-year operating profit outlook after a 75% slump in second-quarter profit - dismal results that heighten the uncertainty surrounding its prospects for a buyout deal. It cut its profit forecast for the year ending in March by roughly a quarter to 125 billion yen ($885 million). Kioxia Holdings Corp, a memory chip maker some 40% owned by Toshiba, has also said it would cut production by about 30% from in October. For the July-September quarter, Toshiba posted an operating profit of 7.5 billion yen ($53.2 million). That was far short of a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 36.9 billion yen from four analysts.

JIP, Chubu Electric and Orix will each invest 100 billion yen, the paper said, without saying where it got the information. A Toshiba representative declined to comment, saying the company could not "answer information about candidates, including co-investors, as it may undermine fair process". Investor focus could now turn to another potential bidder, state-backed fund JIC, which sources have said is also preparing a bid. The fund has been in talks with U.S. private equity fund Bain Capital and north Asia fund MBK Partners to form a separate consortium, sources have said. Differences over JIP's plan to retain Toshiba's management were a source of friction between the two, Reuters has reported.

Differences over JIP's plan to retain Toshiba CEO Taro Shimada and his team were a source of friction between the two bidders, according to two sources familiar with the talks. Despite being selected as preferred bidder, JIP has struggled to secure enough equity commitments from potential partners, sources have said. It now looks set to miss a Monday deadline to deliver a firm proposal that includes letters of commitment from banks, sources have said. In late October, JIC expanded the size of its buyout fund to 900 billion yen ($6.11 billion) from 200 billion yen. Two of the sources said the expansion was not just for a Toshiba buyout but also aimed at other deals.

☆ State-backed Toshiba suitor boosts buyout fund size to $6 billion-plus
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Takaya Yamaguchi | Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba Corp is displayed atop of the company's facility building in Kawasaki, Japan, June 24, 2022. REUTERS/Issei KatoTOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Investment Corp (JIC), a potential bidder for Toshiba Corp, has expanded the size of its buyout fund by 4.5 times to 900 billion yen ($6.11 billion), a spokesperson for the state-backed investment firm said on Wednesday. It faces competition from private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), which other sources say is having difficulty securing sufficient equity commitments from potential consortium partners. JIC received approval for the fund boost from the industry ministry on Oct 27, the spokesperson said. Japan has seen more large-scale buyouts in recent years, and the expansion is designed to allow JIC’s private equity arm to handle such deals, he said.

The logo of Toshiba Corp is displayed atop of the company's facility building in Kawasaki, Japan, June 24, 2022. JIP's initial offer was below 6,000 yen per share, the two sources told Reuters, putting the value of a potential tender offer at less than 2.6 trillion yen ($17.5 billion). Investors have considered 6,000 yen to be a key threshold. During a strategic review last year, at least one global private equity firm told Toshiba's review committee that a deal to take the conglomerate private could be done at 6,000 yen a share or more. In Japan, the court-led rehabilitation of auto parts supplier Marelli Holdings Co Ltd - owned by U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) - has turned banks cautious about terms for financing leveraged buyouts, private equity sources said.

☆ Japan Investment Corp to set up 2nd Toshiba restructuring plan -Kyodo
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe logo of Toshiba Corp. is displayed atop of the company's facility building in Kawasaki, Japan June 24, 2022. REUTERS/Issei KatoTOKYO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - State-backed Japan Investment Corp (JIC) is considering a second proposal for Toshiba Corp's (6502.T) restructuring plan, breaking off with Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) with which it linked up in the first round of bidding, Kyodo news reported on Wednesday. Toshiba has sought strategic proposals and restructuring plans, including going private after a buyout. JIP and JIC disagreed over the best proposal for Toshiba, prompting JIC to consider a new partnership with other funds that passed Toshiba's first bidding round, including Bain Capital or CVC Capital Partners, Kyodo said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kantaro Komiya, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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