Minority shareholders say J:COM tender offer price is too low

Four asset management companies, which collectively hold 5.5% of Japanese cableco J:COM, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the ongoing buy tender issued by KDDI and Sumitomo Corp, reports Reuters. The last two named companies together own about 75% of J:COM, and in October 2012 issued a tender offer to acquire the remaining shares. However, Beach Point Capital Management, Neuberger Berman, Owl Creek Asset Management and P Shoenfeld Asset Management said in a letter that although the tender offer price had been raised to JPY123,000 (USD1,316) per share, up from the original price in October of JPY110,000 per share, it remains below the JPY139,500 per share that Sumitomo and KDDI paid in 2010. ‘The revised tender offer price remains grossly inadequate, and the increase in the already unfair price represents less than half of the 30% increase in [the] TOPIX [index] since the tender offer was originally announced more than four months ago,’ said the asset managers. The tender is set to close on 10 April.