Bankruptcy filing for Toshiba's Westinghouse

Toshiba Corp's US nuclear unit could file for Chapter 11 protection from creditors as early as Tuesday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, hoping to ring fence losses ahead of the end of its financial year. But whether the complex bankruptcy filing, which threatens to involve both the Japanese and US governments, can be achieved this week, remains to be seen.

Separate sources with knowledge of the matter said last Friday Toshiba had informed its main banks that it was planning a March 31 filing for Westinghouse - the center of its multibillion dollar crisis. "A March 28 filing is one proposal. The thinking is that it would great if we could pull that off but whether it goes that well or not, is another issue," the source with direct knowledge said.

Sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Toshiba reiterated a previous statement that it was premature to comment on a potential bankruptcy. Westinghouse has been plagued by huge cost overruns and the financial maelstrom has already caused Toshiba to put up its prized memory chip unit for sale, consider a sale of a majority stake in the US nuclear unit and miss deadlines to file earnings that have put it at risk of a delisting. At Thursday's shareholder meeting, Toshiba will seek approval for the sale of the chip unit.

-Reuters, Tokyo