By Anton Bridge and Anirban Sen
TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) -Japanese eyecare products maker TopCon is exploring going private and other measures to raise corporate value, it said in a statement, following reports that private equity firms were placing bids to buy the company.
Private equity firms including KKR & Co are bidding to acquire the company, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Bloomberg News first reported the bids on Tuesday, naming Swedish investment firm EQT as another of the contenders.
“We are always considering various measures to enhance our corporate value, not only the measures mentioned in the report,” TopCon said in the statement dated on Tuesday, adding that nothing had been decided.
KKR and EQT both declined to comment.
TopCon shares rose as much as 23% on Wednesday, giving it a market cap of around 280 billion yen ($1.85 billion), according to Reuters calculations based on LSEG data.
The possibility of TopCon going private comes as Japan’s corporate governance reforms, increasing shareholder activism and a weak yen make for a conducive dealmaking environment, especially for private equity firms.
Established in 1932, Tokyo-based TopCon manufactures and sells eyecare, smart infrastructure and positioning products. Its sales reached 216.5 billion yen in 2023, its website showed.
Activist investor ValueAct Capital is a shareholder in TopCon, holding a 13.69% stake, LSEG data showed.
($1 = 151.6600 yen)
(Reporting by Anton Bridge in Tokyo, Anirban Sen in New York and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Varun H K and Tom Hogue)
