Toshiba to start taking bids in June for its Swiss unit Landis+Gyr: Kyodo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp <6502.T> will start taking bids for Landis+Gyr, its Swiss smart meter unit, as early as June, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday. Hitachi Ltd <6501.T> and other Japanese firms are seen as possible bidders for the unit, Kyodo said, without citing sources. Reuters last month reported that Toshiba had hired UBS to explore a sale or an initial public offering of the business, potentially valued at over $2 billion. Toshiba is targeting buyout groups such as Carlyle , Cinven [CINV.UL], Advent, Blackstone , Bain, Onex , Triton, CD&R and even former owner KKR , a person close to the matter said. A Toshiba spokesman did not have an immediate comment on the report. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)