Oji Paper President Kazuhisa Shinoda

Oji Paper President Kazuhisa Shinoda said Aug. 29 that his company's ongoing takeover bid for Hokuetsu "is likely to fail."

The Asahi Shimbun reported that Oji plans to drop its takeover bid because it is unlikely to acquire more than 50 percent of Hokuetsu shares. The report cited an unnamed Oji official.

The tender offer bid came a week after Hokuetsu rejected a first merger proposal from Oji and said it would instead go ahead with a previously planned tie-up with trading company Mitsubishi Corp.

Oji has said earlier that it would spend at least ¥80.66 billion to take a controlling 61 percent stake in Hokuetsu. The tender offer will run through Sept. 4.

Mitsubishi, which has a 24.4 percent stake in Hokuetsu, said it has no plans to negotiate with Oji.

The Japan Times Weekly: Sept. 2, 2006
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