Japan's JAFCO weighs takeover defence against activist
15/08/2022 10:16
TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - JAFCO Group Co Ltd 8595.T said
on Monday it may introduce a "poison pill" takeover defence
after a group of shareholders backed by a prominent activist
investor "hinted" they could buy a majority stake in the major
Japanese venture capital firm.
An investor group led by Yoshiaki Murakami told JAFCO in
meetings early this month that they had amassed nearly 15% of
its shares and suggested that there is a possibility of
increasing their stake to 51%, the firm said in a regulatory
filing.
The Murakami group also requested that JAFCO buy back shares
worth about 50 billion yen ($374.76 million), or a third of its
market value, the filing said.
A representative for the group's main fund, which is called
City Index Eleventh, declined to comment when contacted by
Reuters and asked about possibly raising its stake to 51%.
Given the threat of a takeover, JAFCO's board on Monday
decided to introduce countermeasures, including an option to
issue stock warrants to existing shareholders which would dilute
the stake held by the Murakami-related parties, when required
conditions are met.
A poison pill that targets a specific bidder - called an
emergency poison pill in Japan - was first successfully employed
in 2020 by Toshiba Machine, renamed Shibaura Machine, in its
fight against Murakami.
($1 = 133.4200 yen)
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; editing by Jason Neely)
((Makiko.Yamazaki@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4563-2805;))