Activist broadcasts Japanese governance weak spot

TBS Holdings

25/10/2017 03:24

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions 
expressed are his own.) 
    By Quentin Webb 
    HONG KONG, Oct 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A UK investor 
wants TBS to sell corporate stakes and return cash to 
shareholders. Fair enough: The $3.5 bln TV network owner has 
little obvious use for Tokyo Electron and other holdings. 
Despite some broader progress, it will take more pressure to 
break this bad Japan Inc habit. 
        
    Full view will be published shortly. 
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/qtwebb 
     
    CONTEXT NEWS 
    -  Asset Value Investors, a London-based money manager, said 
on Oct. 24 it was pressing the board of Tokyo Broadcasting 
System Holdings to sell stakes in other companies and return the 
proceeds to shareholders.  
    - With about 1.5 percent of TBS, Asset Value Investors told 
Reuters it was prepared to put a formal resolution to a vote at 
the next annual shareholder meeting if the company fails to act. 
    - TBS's biggest holding is a stake of about 7.7 million 
shares in semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron, 
according to Eikon data. Based on closing share prices for Oct. 
24, that stake has a value of about $1.3 billion. 
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can 
click on  WEBB/   
    - SIGN UP FOR BREAKINGVIEWS EMAIL ALERTS: http://bit.ly/BVsubscribe 
 
    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
BREAKINGVIEWS - Japan has long road to black-belt in governance  
   urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1DW1B3 
Tokyo Broadcasting investor launches activist campaign    
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1MZ6DR 
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> 
 (Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb and Katrina Hamlin) 
 ((quentin.webb@thomsonreuters.com;)(Reuters 
Messaging:)(quentin.webb.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: TOKYO BROAD SYS INVESTOR/ACTIVISM BREAKINGVIEWS