(April 1): KKR & Co is planning a tender offer for Taiyo Holdings Co in a transaction valuing the Japanese firm at about ¥500 billion (US$3.2 billion).
KKR intends to pay ¥4,750 per Taiyo share, it said in a statement late on Tuesday. That represents a 117% premium to the sixth-month average unaffected closing price as of May 27, before reports including from Bloomberg News emerged about a bidding process. Taiyo fell 5.7% to ¥4,700 in Tokyo on Wednesday, the lowest since Dec 22.
Taiyo’s board supports the tender offer, along with largest shareholder DIC Corp, asset manager Kowa Co and funds managed by Hong Kong-based Oasis Management Co, according to the statement. That represents about 42.2% of the company’s outstanding shares. The founding family plans to reinvest in the investment vehicle that will own Taiyo.
People familiar with the matter said in February that the firms were in final discussions for a take-private at a price likely to be less than Taiyo’s ¥6,000 level at the time.
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