Investor 3D urges Sapporo Holdings external directors to seek business overhaul (updated)

Sapporo Breweries

07/11/2022 04:32

(Changes attribution in 1st-2nd paragraphs, adds activist
history and shares)
       TOKYO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Singapore-based fund 3D
Investment Partners has urged external directors of Sapporo
Holdings  2501.T  to take the lead in reassessing a
revitalisation plan for the Japanese beer company, according to
a letter reviewed by Reuters.
    The fund said in the letter, dated Nov. 3, it was "deeply
disappointed" by an Oct. 28 response from the outside directors
on the value enhancement plan that 3D had presented. It wasn't
immediately clear what the directors' response was, and details
of 3D's original proposals weren't immediately available.
    The fund has asked the five outside directors to postpone
the announcement of a new business plan scheduled on Wednesday,
among other requests.
    3D Investment Partners and Sapporo Holdings declined to
comment on the report. 
    The fund noted that Sapporo Holdings had failed to meet its
sales target during the past 15 years, and that its return on
equity (ROE) averaged 2% in the past five years - far lower than
rivals Kirin Holdings'  2503.T  14% and Asahi Group Holdings'
 2502.T  11%, the Nikkei newspaper reported earlier.
    Sapporo Holdings was the target of a takeover bid in 2007 by
U.S.-based activist fund Steel Partners, which had urged the
company to sell off underperforming units and improve management
of its real estate holdings.
    The buyout failed and Steel Partners sold most of its
remaining stake in Sapporo in 2010.
    Shares of Sapporo Holdings were up 0.2% in the morning
session of Tokyo trade, trailing a 1.7% rise for Kirin and a
1.9% advance by Asahi.
 (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Rocky Swift and Makiko Yamazaki;
Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Kenneth Maxwell)
 ((ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4520-1228;))