Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. investment firm owned by SoftBank Group, will offer to buy Japanese hotel operator Unizo Holding, launching a counter bid against travel agency H.I.S. Co, the Nikkei reported.
Fortress will a launch tender offer as soon as the start of next week for all the shares in Unizo at a price higher than H.I.S.’s offer of 3,100 yen per share, the Nikkei said on Friday.
Unizo, which opposes H.I.S.’s bid, has sought help from Fortress as a ‘white knight’, the Japanese daily said, without citing sources.
Following the Nikkei report, Unizo said in a statement it was in talks with a potential partner and would hold a board meeting on Friday, without commenting further on the report.
Fortress declined to comment. H.I.S. representatives were not immediately available for comment.
H.I.S., which already owns 4.79% in Unizo, last month launched a tender offer to raise its stake in Unizo to as much as 45%. Unizo said it opposed the offer, setting the stage for a rare hostile bid in Japan.
Unizo has a stock market value of about 123.5 billion yen ($1.2 billion), according to Refinitiv data.
U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management has been gradually raising its stake in Unizo and now holds 9.9% of the hotel operator, regulatory filings show.
Unizo shares closed at 3,600 yen on Thursday, or 16% above H.I.S.’s offer. Trading was suspended following the Nikkei report.
Source: Reuters.com