Itochu amasses 40 pct stake in Descente in rare Japan hostile bid (updated)

Descente

15/03/2019 06:47

* Hostile bids rarely succeed in Japan
    * Descente's licensed brands include Le Coq Sportif, Umbro
    * Itochu rescued Descente in 1980s

 (Adds details on hostile offers in Japan, Itochu bid)
    TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - Trading house Itochu Corp
 8001.T  said on Friday it has amassed a 40 percent stake
in sportswear maker Descente Ltd  8114.T , setting the stage for
a rare hostile takeover in Japan's consensus-driven market.
    Itochu, which previously held around 30 percent of Descente
as of late January, had offered to buy more shares from other
shareholders at a 50 percent premium. 
    A stake of more than one-third gives Itochu veto power over
acquisitions and other strategic decisions. The company will
also have a greater say in nominating Descente's board members. 
    Descente, which has licensed brands such as Le Coq Sportif,
Munsingwear and Umbro and is heavily focused on the South Korean
market, has publicly opposed the takeover.
    Descente said on Friday it could not yet comment on Itochu's
stake, and on media reports which have said that its President
Masatoshi Ishimoto would likely step down after a takeover.
    Itochu rescued a financially strapped Descente in the 1980s
and has said the company needed better management and should
expand into markets such as China. 
    Hostile takeovers are rare among Japanese businesses, with
corporate boards traditionally controlled by company executives.
    The few hostile bids have mostly been unsuccessful, and many
companies adopted "poison pills" and other takeover defences
after a high-profile bid by Internet firm Livedoor for
broadcaster Fuji Television Network  4676.T  in 2005.    
    But a government push for better corporate governance has
forced companies to open up their boards to more independent
directors in the past few years. 

 (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)
 ((Ritsuko.Ando@reuters.com; +81 3 6441 1743; Reuters Messaging:
ritsuko.ando.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))