Toshiba sells 4.6% stake in Finnish elevator maker Kone Oyj for $946 mn amid accounting scandal

Japan's Toshiba Corp today announced that it has sold a 4.6 per cent stake in Finnish elevator maker Kone Oyj for about €865 million ($946 million).

The sale comes just a day after Toshiba's president Hisao Tanaka and two other executives resigned taking responsibility for the $1.2-billion accounting scandal that caused the company to restate earnings for more than six years (See: Toshiba's president Hisao Tanaka, two others resign over accounting scandal).

The stake held by Toshiba's subsidiary Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp, was sold for €35.75 per share.

The Tokyo-based company said it expects to book a pre-tax profit of about ¥113 billion ($912.5 million) from the sale in the current financial year.

Toshiba Elevators and Building System Corporation and Kone had entered into a strategic alliance in 1998, expanding it through cross-ownership in 2002.

Through this alliance, Toshiba had the right to manufacture and market elevators based on Kone's machineroom-less technology in Japan and in 2004, both companies agreed to strengthen their alliance through a long-term collaboration to advance high-rise elevator technology.

Founded in 1910, Kone is one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry with annual sales of €7.3 billion and over 47,000 employees.

The Helsinki-based company operates through over 1,000 offices in nearly 60 countries around the world. It has 7 global production sites, 8 global R&D centers and distributors in over 60 countries.