Toshiba said on Monday it had received an offer from private equity firm CVC Capital Partners estimated to be worth more than 2 trillion yen, the latest in a wave of foreign takeovers of Japanese companies. Toshiba's shares rose 18.28 per cent on the day, even though the takeover of Toshiba's related businesses requires government approval.

"It is a fact that we have received an offer," Toshiba President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Masaaki Hasegani said in an interview with the media this morning. This will be discussed at the board meeting." "As we received an initial proposal yesterday, we will ask for specific information and discuss it carefully," Toshiba said in a comment. Toshiba's market value on Tuesday was about 2 trillion yen.

It is customary for tender offers to be somewhat above market value, so the total price for all the shares is expected to be more than 2 trillion yen. Toshiba, which has a nuclear business, is the focus of scrutiny under Japan's Foreign Exchange Law, which will come into force in 2020, with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Finance conducting an advance review.

Mr Chetani is a former deputy president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and chairman of CVC Japan. He was given the task of rebuilding Toshiba, which was in crisis because of financial irregularities and other problems. However, his contradictions with big shareholders are clear. At the 2020 shareholders' meeting, the number of votes in favor of his re-election fell to 57%.

Foreign shareholders have played an increasing role in Toshiba since the Japanese conglomerate raised billions of dollars in 2017 to strengthen its balance sheet following the collapse of Westinghouse Electric, its nuclear power unit, according to public filings.

Toshiba, which has been slimming down in recent years to ease financial pressures, has sold its NAND Flash business to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital in an $18 billion deal. Then it sold its laptop business.

"It is important to have stable and sustainable operations for businesses that are important to Japan's economy and society," Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a press conference on the proposed deal on Monday.

The Toshiba deal comes as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), another US investor, ramps up its Asian portfolio and also shows interest in Japanese companies.

Kohlberg Kravis Kravis (KKR) announced Monday it has set up a $15 billion fund to invest in companies in the Asia-Pacific region, the largest fund in the region's history, Nikkei reported. Some of the fund's money will go to Japan, where takeover competition for Japanese companies will intensify.

This is KKR's fourth investment in Asia, up 60 percent from the $9.3 billion it set up in 2017 and exceeding its initial target.

KKR set up a branch in Asia in 2005 and has more than $30bn of assets invested in the region. In Japan, KKR acquired Nissan Motor Co. 's major components maker Konako (now Marelli) in 2017, and in 2020 decided to invest in Wal-Mart's Seiyu with Japan's Rakuten Group.