Unizo shares jump after Blackstone launches tender offer (updated)

HIS Co

16/10/2019 02:50

(Recasts, adds tender offer background)
    TOKYO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Shares of Unizo Holdings Co Ltd
 3258.T  jumped on Wednesday after U.S. private equity firm
Blackstone Group Inc  BX.N  ratcheted up its pursuit of the
Japanese hotel operator by launching a 5,000 yen-per-share
tender offer.
    Unizo stock rose as much as 5.6% to 4,965 yen in early Tokyo
trade after Blackstone announced its offer the previous day,
doubling down on its $1.6 billion offer after the proposal was
rebuffed by the hotelier.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N27024N
    The Japanese firm said in a statement it had not decided how
to respond to the tender offer and would consult with a special
committee on how to proceed.
    It said it had learned about the offer from a press release
issued through PR Times but had not been contacted by
Blackstone.
    Unizo was little known until travel services provider H.I.S.
Co Ltd  9603.T  launched a tender offer for it in July. Unizo
ultimately rejected the bid but attracted the attention of other
suitors who see the company as vastly undervalued.
    But Unizo has played hard to get: Last week it rejected a
proposal from Blackstone as well as one from an unidentified
"locally renowned" fund.
    Before that, Unizo withdrew support for a white-knight bid
from Fortress Investment Group, an asset manager backed by
SoftBank Group Corp  9984.T .
    Its biggest shareholder Elliot Management last week asked
Unizo's board to address its concerns about disclosure in
relation to its withdrawal of support for the Fortress bid.
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Blackstone turns up heat on hotelier Unizo with tender offer   
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Top shareholder in Japan's Unizo wants explanation after $1.3
bln U-turn     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N26U1X3
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 (Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing)
 ((chris.gallagher@thomsonreuters.com; 81-3-4563-2714;))