The struggling Japanese industrial conglomerate is expected to restart the process to invite bids as early as Friday, the sources said.

The sale is expected to be completed in the fiscal year that begins in April, the sources said.

Toshiba previously planned to sell a stake of less than 20 pct in the chip business.

The company’s shareholder equity is expected to fall to negative 150 billion yen at the end of the current fiscal year on March 31 on over 700 billion yen in losses from its US nuclear operations, leaving it with negative net worth.

The spinoff and sale of the flash memory chip business is designed to help Toshiba pull out of the negative net worth and strengthen its capital.

The initial auction drew bids from nearly 10 companies, including Western Digital Corp., a US hard disk drive maker and Toshiba’s partner in memory chip operations, and several Taiwanese firms, including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the parent of Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp.

Toshiba clients, including mobile phone makers, may show interest in the new auction, informed sources said. (Jiji Press)