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Hedge Fund Oasis Calls for Alternative Bidders for Nippo

Oasis Calls for Bidders to Counter Eneos, Goldman Plan for Nippo

Oasis Management Co. called on potential bidders for Nippo Corp. to come forward as the activist shareholder lashed out at Nippo parent Eneos Holdings Inc.’s plan to take the company private with Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Any potential buyers withholding bids for fear of being perceived as hostile shouldn’t worry, as Eneos and Nippo have clarified that they’re open to alternative bids, Hong Kong-based hedge fund Oasis said in a website it set up Monday. 

Oasis, which was founded by Seth Fischer and which holds shares in Nippo, has held talks with several potential acquirers, it said, and added that any bidders would need to provide a detailed proposal to Nippo’s special committee.

“We are aware of other bidders for the company,” Fischer, Oasis’s chief investment officer, said in an interview. “We want an open process for all potential buyers to participate in.”

Fischer’s fund joins Silchester International Investors in taking a swipe at Eneos’s 4,000 yen-a-share bid to privatize Nippo. Oasis last month said last month the bid “significantly” undervalued Nippo, adding that a fairer price would be greater than 5,600 yen per share. Eneos in response rejected calls to raise the price. Nippo shares were unchanged at 4,090 yen on Tuesday at the trading break in Tokyo.

Oasis, one of the best-known activist investors in Japanese stocks, has long campaigned about what it sees as unfairness to minority shareholders when the country’s companies acquire their listed subsidiaries. 

As far back as 2017, it called for Panasonic Corp. to sweeten its offer for unit PanaHome Corp., saying the price was too low and the deal was a test case of whether Japan’s corporate governance overhaul was working.

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