By Makiko Yamazaki and Tokyo Newsroom

TOKYO (Reuters) – A $14 billion tender offer to take Toshiba private is set to succeed, the Japanese company said on Wednesday, clearing a way for Japan’s biggest deal this year.

Toshiba has received a report from the buyer, a group led by Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), that the tender offer “is forecasted to be successful,” the company said.

JIP, a private equity firm, launched a 4,620 yen ($31.24) per share bid to take Toshiba private last month, a move that would put the electronics-to-power stations maker in domestic hands after years of battles with overseas activist shareholders.

The offer, which ended on Wednesday, needed at least two-thirds of shareholders to tender their shares for it to succeed.

($1 = 147.9100 yen)