TOKYO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Japanese gas company Iwatani
Corp 8088.T on Friday said it will raise its stake in Cosmo
Energy Holdings 5021.T to 19.93% by buying shares from funds
related to prominent activist shareholder Yoshiaki Murakami for
105.3 billion yen ($710.8 million).
Murakami's funds have raised their stake in Cosmo Energy to
nearly 25% and have pursued a hostile takeover of the
third-biggest Japanese oil refiner, ahead of a shareholder vote
on Dec. 14.
($1 = 148.1400 yen)
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
((Kantaro.Komiya@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @kantarokomiya;))