By Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) -Tsuruha Holdings on Thursday won a proxy fight with an activist investor seeking to reshuffle the board of directors, as the Japanese drugstore chain received a majority of shareholder support for their candidates.
Shareholders at their annual general meeting approved all 10 candidates nominated by the company and rejected all five outside director nominees backed by Hong Kong-based Oasis Management, Tsuruha said in a statement.
The proxy battle was about who should be on the board to lead a successful mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategy when investors widely expect more consolidation among Japan’s fragmented drugstore industry.
Oasis, which owns 12.8% of Tsuruha, argued that the current board dominated by founding family members could impede the company from fairly evaluating consolidation opportunities.
Tsuruha said the board already has industry insiders with knowledge and networks which it needs to pursue the best M&A strategy.
According to vote results released by the company, President Jun Tsuruha received support from 83.69% of shareholders, while support for Oasis candidates ranged from 20.99% to 28.10%.
Retail giant Aeon, Tsuruha’s largest shareholder with a 13% stake, said before the meeting it would support Tsuruha.
Placing the drugstore business as one of key growth drivers, Aeon also owns 51% of Welcia Holdings and 10% of Kusuri No Aoki Holdings.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Himani Sarkar)
