Taiyo to decide on delisting as early as August, president says
Taiyo Holdings will decide on proposals from several private equity funds — and whether to delist — after a shareholder meeting this month in which its president, Eiji Sato, is likely to face a vote on his ouster.
The Japanese chemical manufacturer will decide on the proposals in August at the earliest, Sato said in an interview. The company is reviewing formal proposals for capital alliances, including privatization, from fewer than five private equity funds, and a special committee is examining whether the acquisition terms are fair, he said.
Taiyo is set to hold its annual shareholders' meeting on Saturday, and the conference may become heated.
DIC, the company's largest stockholder and capital alliance partner, has said it intends to vote against the reappointment of Sato as a board director. It cited insufficient responses from Sato and the board of directors to various proposals, including delisting, as the reason behind its decision.
"We were not informed of DIC's announcement and were surprised,' Sato said. He said that the formal privatization proposals were received in February and were presented in a timely manner. It was reported in May that Taiyo received acquisition proposals from U.S. investment fund KKR and the Japan Industrial Promotion Organization.
At least one of the plans was to delist the company through a tender offer at a premium. Taiyo's market value has climbed about ¥50 billion ($347 million) to around ¥350 billion in about two weeks since the plans were reported. The proposals come as Japanese companies face pressure from the Tokyo Stock Exchange to boost their value to stay listed.
DIC, which holds about 19% of Taiyo's shares, isn't alone in seeking Sato's departure at the shareholders' meeting.
Oasis Management, a Hong Kong-based hedge fund with about an 11% stake, is also opposed to his reappointment, citing governance issues.
Taiyo's founding family, which is estimated to hold about 10% of the shares, has also solidified its intention to vote against Sato staying on as a director, according to a report by Tokyo Shoko Research. In effect, this is an unusual situation in which the top three shareholders have all expressed opposition to the president staying on.
Sato said that while he expects more acquisition proposals in the future, Taiyo will suspend consideration of any new proposals until after the shareholders' meeting due to the current situation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Top court upholds denial of COVID subsidies to sex industry businesses
Japan's Supreme Court has upheld lower court rulings that found it is not unconstitutional to deny state subsidies for enterprises impacted by the pandemic to adult entertainment businesses. The court's First Petty Bench on Monday rejected an outcall escort service operator's appeal for compensation and payment of the subsidies. The operator argued that its exclusion amounts to occupational discrimination and violates the Constitution's guarantee of equality under the law. That claim had previously been rejected by a district and a high court. In upholding the lower courts' decision, the top court said non-store-based adult entertainment businesses are positioned as having the potential to impede the healthy development of minors if various regulations are not put in place. The court ruled that denying public funds to such businesses is not unconstitutional. One of the five justices behind Monday's ruling, the presiding justice, Miyagawa Mitsuko, gave a dissenting opinion. She said the exclusion could give the impression that operators and workers of sex-related industries are socially inferior, and is a stereotype that could take root among the public. The operator stated: "I don't believe this ruling truly upholds human rights. Considering the impact on the industry, it's the worst possible outcome. On the other hand, I found some solace in the fact that there was a justice who wrote a dissenting opinion, arguing that it violates the Constitution."
2 hours ago
Orix Bank Targets 300 B. Yen in Corporate Lending for FY 2025
News from Japan Economy Jun 16, 2025 18:57 (JST) Tokyo, June 16 (Jiji Press)--Orix Bank aims to extend 300 billion yen in lending to businesses in fiscal 2025, which ends in March 2026, its president, Kanji Teramoto, said in a recent interview. The bank plans to boost such lending by about 50 pct from the previous year by focusing on funds for renewable energy and logistics facilities. In its 2021 management strategy, the bank positioned lending to businesses as its second source of revenue after real estate loans to individuals. Its lending to businesses totaled 204 billion yen in fiscal 2024, up from 84 billion yen in fiscal 2021. "We will steadily expand loans with relatively high returns to make them a source of competitiveness," Teramoto said. He indicated that the bank will focus on financing corporate mergers and acquisitions, as well as lending to businesses in the fields of renewable energy, logistics and houses and offices, in which the Orix group has expertise. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
BOJ likely to weigh slowing reductions in gov't bond purchases
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Bank of Japan could consider slowing the pace of its reduction of government bond purchases from next April under the current tapering program at its two-day policy meeting that started Monday. The board members of the central bank are expected to discuss whether to maintain or ease the pace of its bond-buying reduction amid recent surges in super long-term yields, while likely deciding to keep the policy rate unchanged at around 0.5 percent. The BOJ decided in July last year to cut its government bond purchases by 400 billion yen ($2.8 billion) per quarter through next March in a shift toward policy normalization. The meeting comes after yields on longer-term government bonds soared last month due partly to fears about the country's fiscal health following a series of pledges by lawmakers to cut the consumption tax rate. While the BOJ is widely expected to extend the tapering program beyond next fiscal year, the market is focused on whether the central bank, the largest holder of government bonds, will take steps to prevent market volatility. Following a decade of unorthodox monetary easing to tackle deflation, including massive asset purchases, the BOJ raised interest rates in March last year for the first time in 17 years. It began quantitative tightening last August to reduce its bloated balance sheet. The bank has maintained its plan of raising rates further if the economy and prices move in line with its expectations, but is likely to be cautious in deciding on the next rate hike amid uncertainty over Japan-U.S. negotiations on steep tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. BOJ chief Kazuo Ueda said earlier this month that the bank will not push hard to raise its policy rate unless economic and price conditions are projected to improve, noting the "extremely high" uncertainty due to hefty U.S. tariffs. He also said that the tariffs could cause "the global economy to slow down and squeeze profits of domestic companies."
