Japan's Yamada Denki to take over feud-torn furniture seller -report (updated)
12/12/2019 05:17
(Adds response to report from the companies, background on
Otsuka)
TOKYO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Japanese electronics retailer
Yamada Denki Co 9831.T is set to pay over 4 billion yen ($36.8
million) to take over furniture seller Otsuka Kagu 8186.T ,
which struggled to recover from a drawn-out boardroom and family
feud, a report said on Thursday.
The two companies are in the final stages of striking a
deal, and are set to make an announcement this week, Diamond
Online reported.
Otsuka will issue new shares, and Yamada Denki will end up
owning over 50% of the company's equity, the report said. While
the move is set to dilute the value of existing shares, Otsuka's
stock rose 0.6% to 163 yen.
Yamada Denki declined to comment. Otsuka would not confirm
the report but said its board had made a decision on a capital
tie-up earlier in the day and that an announcement would be made
later.
Otsuka, already struggling against cheaper and more casual
furniture stores such as Nitori Holdings 9843.T and global
chain IKEA, failed to recover from negative publicity on a
battle between the company's founder and his now-CEO daughter.
The pair's power struggle led to a proxy battle in 2015, an
emotional showdown that was played out on national television.
($1 = 108.6400 yen)
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando and Kevin Buckland; Editing by
Clarence Fernandez and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
((Kevin.Buckland@thomsonreuters.com;))