Bidders poke holes in Japan's fair M&A push
21/10/2024 04:35
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are his own.)
By Anshuman Daga
SINGAPORE, Oct 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Seven & i
and Fuji Soft have each dug in their heels against generous
takeover approaches from Canada's Couche-Tard and buyout firm
Bain Capital. New guidelines are reshaping the market for deals
in the $4 trln economy, but reluctant targets retain power to
simply say no.
Full view will be published shortly.
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CONTEXT NEWS
Fuji Soft founder and shareholder Hiroshi Nozawa said in a
letter on Oct. 17 that he supports Bain Capital's takeover
approach for the Japanese software developer.
Bain says it is willing to pay 9,450 yen a share for Fuji
Soft, outbidding the per share value of the target's $3.9
billion agreed deal with KKR by about 7%. Fuji Soft's board has
backed KKR's first phase of its dual-stage tender offer and said
that Bain's potential offer was also under consideration. KKR
has secured a nearly 33% stake in the software firm.
Separately, Alimentation Couche-Tard's Chair Alain Bouchard
on a visit to Tokyo told Bloomberg in an interview on Oct 17
that the Canadian retailer was not granted an audience with the
management of Seven & i. The company has indicated it can pay
$47 billion for the convenience store owner, 55% more than the
7-Eleven owner's undisturbed market capitalisation on Aug. 16.
(Editing by Una Galani and Anshuman Daga)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on DAGA/
anshuman.daga@thomsonreuters.com))