(Reuters) – Investment funds Curi RMB Capital and Oasis Management are contesting the pricing of Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings’ management buyout in court after failed negotiations over their forced divestment as minority shareholders, Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.
Taisho’s founding family gained 73% of the company in a tender offer in January for 8,620 yen per share in a plan to delist it. This was 55% more than the share price before the offer was announced but still below Taisho’s book value.
In March, Oasis said it was considering legal action over Taisho’s $5 billion management buyout – Japan’s largest to date – arguing that it was deeply unfair to minority shareholders.
Curi RMB, which did not tender its stake in Taisho, faced a forced divestment. In February, it said “the tender offer price was set at an unfairly low price, which is not in the best interest of minority shareholders.”
Oasis Management has also cited concerns over Taisho’s special committee’s functioning and raised the likelihood that the value of Taisho Pharma’s property holdings and strategic shareholdings were not properly reflected, the report added.
Taisho Pharma could not immediately be reached for a comment. Oasis and Curi RMB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)
