Toshiba to start new bidding round for it US LNG business

Japan’s Toshiba Corporation on Wednesday said it has decided to terminate the purchase and sales deal with China’s ENN for its US LNG business.

The decision follows ENN Ecological Holdings notice to Toshiba on the termination of the deal under which the Chinese company would buy all outstanding shares of Toshiba America LNG Corporation.

Toshiba said in its statement that it has already submitted an official notice of termination to ENN and reconfirmed its decision to withdraw from all business related to the purchase and sale of LNG in the United States, and decided to restart the bidding process to transfer LNG business to a third party.

The company has categorized the LNG business as a non-core business and decided to withdraw from at the earliest possible timing.

However, Toshiba noted that following ENN’s notice of termination it has not yet received ENN’s official notice of termination. Separately, following its own analysis of the situation, Toshiba has determined that pursuing the transaction contemplated in the PSA is surrounded by uncertainty and therefore decided to terminate the PSA.

Toshiba is looking to reinstate the bidding process and to realize an early sale and withdrawal from the LNG business. The company said that until a new buyer is found it will continue to fulfill its obligation under the existing contracts whilst aiming to complete the withdrawal within this fiscal year.