Activist Murakami’s Fund Makes Audacious Bid for Toshiba Machine

(Bloomberg) -- Yoshiaki Murakami, Japan’s best-known activist investor, announced a tender offer for Toshiba Machine Co., a bid that was as audacious as it was lacking in detail.

The bid from, Murakami vehicle Office Support, came just hours after Toshiba Machine confirmed it had agreed to tender its shares in NuFlare Technology Inc. to Toshiba Corp. NuFlare was at the heart of an unusual bidding war among Japanese companies, a battle that included Murakami’s funds.

Toshiba Machine said it had not been consulted at all in advance of the bid, and that a committee would evaluate the proposal. It also threatened it could sabotage the offer with the issuance of share warrants.

The statement did not give an offer price or an indication of how much Murakami was prepared to spend, but said the bid would begin Jan. 21. Murakami funds already effectively held 11.5% of Toshiba Machine, the statement said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gearoid Reidy in Tokyo at greidy1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gearoid Reidy at greidy1@bloomberg.net

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.