Yomiuri: Hostile bid for TSE-listed firm succeeds for 1st time Ken Enterprise buys Solid Group Holdings
Investment firm Ken Enterprise Co. said Thursday it has acquired a majority stake in used-car dealer Solid Group Holdings Co., marking the country's first successful hostile takeover bid for a firm listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. While Solid Group Holdings, formerly Livedoor Auto Co., had opposed the takeover bid, U.S.-based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which held 48.48 percent of the firm's shares, sold its stake to the investment firm...Lehman Brothers Holdings' 48.48 percent stake in Solid Group Holdings exceeded the 48 percent stake necessary for carrying out the takeover. The stake was collateral on loans to the firm's former parent company, Livedoor Co. Other stakeholders apparently did not sell their shares. The investment firm, affiliated with major commercial loan firm SFCG Co., formerly known as Shoko Fund...more...
There's a slight irony here in that the fall of Livedoor came about because of Horie's own attempt to complete a hostile takeover. It's notable that even though the hostile bidder is Japanese, the deal only went through because a foreign firm owned a big enough stake to matter. Ken Enterprise is named after SFCG owner Ken Oshima - his delightful daughter Yuki has appeared on these forums before.
