Japan's Ichigo Asset Management Ltd. has acquired a 5.56% stake in UNIZO Holdings Company Ltd. amid an emerging bidding war for the Japanese hotel chain between travel agency HIS Holdings Co. Ltd. and Fortress Investment Group.
Ichigo said in a regulatory filing Aug. 20 that it acquired the stake to "protect minority shareholders" and that it may "offer major proposals" to Unizo, without specifying details.
HIS announced a hostile takeover bid for Unizo on July 10, offering ¥3,100 per share for a 40% stake. Fortress, a SoftBank Group Corp unit, followed Aug. 18 with a "white knight" bid of ¥4,000 per unit for all of Unizo shares.
Ichigo acquired a 3.03% stake in Unizo on July 12, with the rest of its 5.56% shareholding bought between July 16 and Aug. 13.
As of Aug. 20, US$1 was equivalent to ¥106.38.
