Japanese multinational corporation Toshiba has announced its plan to split into three standalone businesses on Friday, November 12. Infrastructure, semiconductors, and devices will be the center of the three companies. Toshiba will focus on two core areas: energy and facilities and device and storage operations. Moreover, the corporation will maintain its 40.6% share in memory chipmaker Kioxia and other assets. The goal is to raise the stock market prices of Toshiba’s numerous companies after facing shareholder pressure. The restructuring is anticipated to be completed in the second half of 2023; however, analysts are concerned about the duration. Atul Goyal of investment bank Jefferies notes that “it seems slow” and prefers a three-to-six month schedule.

Toshiba, founded in the 1870s, is one of Japan’s oldest and largest companies, with diverse types of products ranging from home electronics to nuclear power facilities. However, following the result of an accounting issue and severe losses at its US nuclear unit, the company has undergone extensive adjustments in recent years. The corporate’s decision to separate into three businesses marks the end of an era, but it also highlights activist investors’ growing influence, as evidenced by the effective removal of the board’s chairperson in June.