Restaurant chain Ootoya joins Japan's growing list of hostile takeover targets
09/07/2020 11:19
TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) - Japanese casual dining chain
Ootoya Holdings 2705.T rebuffed a takeover move by restaurant
group Colowide Co 7616.T announced on Thursday, becoming the
latest in a growing list of hostile takeover targets in the
country.
Colowide, which already owns a 19% stake in Ootoya, said in
a statement on Thursday that it would launch a tender, seeking
to increase its stake to as much as 51%, offering to buy the
shares at 3,081 yen, a premium of more than 45% on Wednesday's
closing price.
Ootoya said the announcement by Colowide, which runs popular
restaurants such as barbecue chain Gyu-Kaku, had come as a
surprise and that a majority of shareholders were against the
move.
Hostile takeovers are rare in corporate Japan, which values
consensus, but increasing pressure on companies to deliver
shareholder returns amid a sluggish domestic market have
prompted more such moves.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Susan Fenton)
((Ritsuko.Ando@reuters.com; +81 3 6441 1743;))