TOKYO: Toshiba Corp. President and CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani is expected to step down Wednesday when he is unlikely to face a motion for dismissal, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The prospect comes as Toshiba’s board is divided over an offer by British investment fund CVC Capital Partners to acquire the Japanese electronics and machinery maker for over 2 trillion yen.

Some members of the board are suspicious about a link between the offer and Kurumatani, who once served as chairman of CVC Capital’s Japan unit.

The sources said some board members, including Osamu Nagayama, chairman of the board, are considering submitting a motion to dismiss Kurumatani at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning. If the motion is filed, Kurumatani is likely to offer to resign, the sources said.

Kurumatani, who formerly worked for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., took the helm at Toshiba in April 2018 after the company was demoted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s second section from the first following an accounting scandal in 2015 and the collapse of a U.S. nuclear power unit in 2017.

He promoted structural reform, including the sale of U.S. liquefied natural gas operations, helping bring Toshiba back to the TSE’s first section in January this year.

On April 6, CVC Capital offered to buy Toshiba for 5,000 yen per share, aiming to take the company private in October.

JIJI Press