The $15-B scramble for Japan’s Toshiba went from bang to whimper

TOKYO -Toshiba Corp’s auction was supposed to ignite a race for top-dollar bids among global private equity firms. Instead, it brought months of uncertainty and a solitary, scaled-back offer from the company’s business partners in Japan.

The $15-billion bid, led by domestic buyout firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) and accepted by Toshiba’s board last week, could finally end years of exhausting battles with activist shareholders that sparked management reshuffles and strategy reversals.

Less certain is whether the deal can revive the 147-year-old conglomerate, which has never fully recovered from a 2015 accounting scandal and the bankruptcy of U.S. unit Westinghouse two years lat…

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