Japanese investor Ichigo latest to disclose stake in Unizo

HIS Co

20/08/2019 10:35

TOKYO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Ichigo Asset Management
disclosed a 5.56% stake in hotel chain Unizo Holdings Co Ltd
 3258.T  on Tuesday, days after a SoftBank Group  9984.T  firm
swooped in with a $1.3 billion 'white knight' bid that investors
see going higher.
    Unizo said last week that it had received the friendly
buyout offer from Fortress Investment Group, a move that would
help it fight off a hostile bid from travel agency H.I.S. Co.
 9603.T .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N25C03N
    The Fortress offer represents an unusual counter-offensive
in Japan and investors appear to be betting that it needs to
sweeten its offer of 4,000 yen a share. Shares of Unizo closed
more than 5% higher at 4,300 yen on Tuesday.
    That's well above the H.I.S. offer of 3,100 yen per share.
However, UBS has calculated Unizo's net asset value - a measure
of an entity's net value - at more than 7,800 yen a share after
taxes. 
    Ichigo  2337.T  said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday it
acquired the stake to protect minority shareholders and that it
might make significant proposals to Unizo. 
    U.S. hedge fund Elliott holds a 9.9% stake in Unizo,
according to regulatory filings made by Elliott.
    Elliot is known for buying stakes in companies in the midst
of acquisitions and forcing better terms for minority
shareholders.
    The tug-of-war over Unizo marks a stark departure from most
acquisitions in Japan, where takeovers tend to be pre-agreed
deals waiting to be rubber-stamped. Unwelcome bids, like that of
H.I.S., are particularly rare.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N25222A
    Unizo had said the H.I.S. bid lacked synergy and undervalued
it.

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; additional reporting by David
Dolan; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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