Latest news with #AyaNomura
4 days ago
- Business
Fuji Media Adopts Policies to Counter Massive Share Purchases
News from Japan Jul 10, 2025 17:48 (JST) Tokyo, July 10 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Fuji Media Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it has adopted policies to respond to unsolicited large-scale purchases of its shares. The policies, effectively for defense against takeover attempts, were decided at a meeting of the board of directors, following an increase in Fuji Media shares held by Aya Nomura, the first daughter of activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami, and investment funds related to them. The group including Nomura has raised their stakes in the media business to 16.32 pct, according to a report filed with the government's Kanto Local Finance Bureau on Thursday. Fuji Media held talks with Nomura and Murakami repeatedly since February, the company said, adding that the two suggested that they may increase their shareholdings to 33.3 pct and that Murakami is working to take control of a subsidiary after it is separated from the parent company. Fuji Media said a "real and imminent risk" has emerged that its corporate value and shareholders' interests will be impaired. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Fuji Media shares dip after company floats poison pill defense
Fuji Media Holdings shares fell 4.2% after the broadcaster said it's considering measures to stop one of Japan's most prominent activist investors from gaining control of the firm. Since February, the Japanese entertainment and news conglomerate held several meetings with activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami and his daughter Aya Nomura, according to a company statement Thursday. Entities associated with the two have floated the possibility of increasing their combined stake to 33.3%, it said. Such affiliates together held 15.06% as of July 1. Fuji Media said it will consider issuing free stock acquisition rights if an investor buys up 20% or more of its voting shares. The strategy, often referred to as a poison pill, would allow all shareholders to exercise the right to buy more shares, thereby potentially diluting the ownership of large shareholders. Fuji Media denied that this was a poison pill. This week, Reno, a company affiliated with the Murakami Fund, further demanded the Tokyo company consider spinning off a subsidiary that Murakami would take control of, Fuji Media said. The activist group may act to maximize its own interests, rather than the interests of all shareholders, should it gain sway over the broadcaster's management, Fuji Media said. "This does not leave a good first impression,' said Naoki Fujiwara, senior fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. The stock price decline reflects fears that the activists' influence may be diluted, he said, adding that Fuji Media's move was effectively a poison pill that may be used by management to protect itself. Fuji Media — an entertainment giant that spans TV and satellite broadcasters as well as games and music — has been struggling to recover from a sex assault scandal that's pummeled its reputation and cost it sponsors and viewers. It's been in a standoff against activist investors including Dalton Investments, which had called for more accountability as well as a spinoff of its real estate operations.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Fuji Media Shares Dip After Company Floats Poison Pill Defense
By and Gareth Allan Save Fuji Media Holdings Inc. shares fell 4.2% after the broadcaster said it's considering measures to stop one of Japan's most prominent activist investors from gaining control of the firm. Since February, the Japanese entertainment and news conglomerate held several meetings with activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami and his daughter Aya Nomura, according to a company statement Thursday.
Japan Times
06-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Traders scouring annual meeting filings for traces of activist shareholdings
Traders are scouring notices of annual general meetings to pick up signals about activist holdings in Japanese companies, and profit from potential spikes in stock prices. Tucked away at the bottom of a company's annual general shareholder notices is a list of the firm's top 10 shareholders, which includes names of the investors or custodians that may hint at possible activist involvement. Sumitomo Osaka Cement and auto parts manufacturer KYB were among stocks that jumped last week after activist investor Aya Nomura's name appeared in annual general meeting (AGM) letters, listed as a stakeholder. Activist investors are growing their influence in Japan, having started 89 campaigns this year compared with last year's total of 153, according to compiled data. Most campaigns demand disposal of real estate, changes in strategy and stock buybacks. The AGM filings, usually released at around 8 a.m. Tokyo time, can be a window to identify large shareholders, some of whom may be activists taking exposure to push for higher investor returns in undervalued and cash-rich companies with low price-to-book ratios. At times it is tricky to determine the identity of the investor, who may be acting through an agent. A recent case involving an account on social media platform X, going by the user name Maron, underscores the complexity of figuring out identities. The Maron handle posted a screenshot of top shareholders of J. Front Retailing, including a name of a custodian that Maron speculated was linked to an activist, triggering a share price rally which spilled over to the rest of the sector. Maron didn't provide any detail on his or her identity or background in the account's response to a request for comment. "Shares tend to rise on expectations shareholder returns will increase,' as activist investors often target cash-rich companies to push for better capital allocation, said Sohei Takeuchi, a senior portfolio manager at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management. He added that companies and activists are more aligned than before following the Tokyo Stock Exchange's push to raise corporate value. More than 80% of Tokyo-listed companies, whose fiscal year ends in March, are expected to hold shareholder meetings in the last five days of June, according to a release from the Japan Exchange Group. Their shares will be closely watched in the days ahead, with the law requiring them to post notices at least two weeks before the meetings.
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Traders Scour Annual Meeting Filings for Activist Clues in Japan
Traders are scouring notices of annual general meetings to pick up signals about activist holdings in Japanese companies and profit from potential spikes in stock prices. Tucked away at the bottom of company's annual general shareholder notice is a list of firms' top 10 shareholders, which provides names of the investors or custodians that hint at possible activist involvement. Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co. and auto parts maker KYB Corp. were among stocks that jumped last week after activist investor Aya Nomura's name appeared in the AGM letter, listed as a stakeholder.
