(Reuters) – Japan’s Fujitec Co has held talks with private equity firms, including Sweden’s EQT AB, about a potential buyout, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.
Fujitec, which makes lifts, escalators and moving walkways, has an equity valuation of 377.79 billion yen ($2.46 billion), according to LSEG data.
Fujitec is working with UBS in Tokyo to find a buyer, the Financial Times said.
The company has been the target of activist investors, notably Hong Kong-based Oasis Management, who traded barbs with management before successfully replacing three outside directors at the firm with four of its own nominees in 2023.
Soon after, the board voted to oust Fujitec’s chairman, Takakazu Uchiyama, whose family founded the company.
($1 = 153.3200 yen)
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru and Anton Bridge in Tokyo; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Christian Schmollinger)
