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February 18, 2008 |
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SAPPORO HOLDINGS: Steel Partners Says Bid Won't Harm Investors Steel Partners Japan said that its takeover proposal for Sapporo Breweries Ltd. won't harm shareholders; interests, as opposed to claims made by a Sapporo Holdings Ltd. panel studying the bid, The Japan Times reports. Sapporo's panel refused takeover talks with Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund (Offshore), L.P., the local unit of the U.S. hedge fund on grounds that the deal is detrimental to stakeholders' interests. The panel added that Sapporo failed to properly outline its turnaround plans for the brewery. The refusal prompted the U.S. hedge fund to issue a response saying that the panel's fears are "not supported by facts." "We believe that the biggest risk of damage to the company's corporate value and harm to the common interests of its shareholders and stakeholders stems not from SPJSF or the proposed acquisition, but from the continued path the committee and board is currently following, as opposed to allowing shareholders to decide for themselves whether to accept or reject SPJSF's offer," Warren Lichtenstein, managing partner of Steel Partners Japan, wrote in the letter, the Times relates. According to the same paper, Steel Partners holds 17.52 stake in the brewery, making it its largest shareholder. Sapporo's board of directors, taking into account the panel's recommendations, will decide on the takeover offer by March 5. After which, a shareholder's meeting will ultimately decide the outcome of the offer. About Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund (Offshore), L.P., is a Cayman Islands-registered fund management subsidiary of Warren Lichtenstein's Steel Partners and the biggest shareholder (18.6% as of Feb. 2007) of Sapporo Holdings. It submitted a proposal to Sapporo seeking approval to raise its stake to 66.6%. About Sapporo Holdings Sapporo Holdings Limited -- http://www.sapporoholdings.jp/ -- formerly known as Sapporo Breweries, brews beer and operates more than 200 beer halls and restaurants. Sapporo is one of Japan's oldest brewers, and is Japan's third largest brewing company, with brews ranging from its flagship Black Label to the pricier Yebisu. Sapporo also makes the low-malt happoshu brew. The company sells Guinness beer in Japan through its Sapporo Guinness Company and owns a beverage company that makes canned coffee, bottled water, and soft drinks. * * * As of May 16, 2007, the company carries Standard & Poor's Rating Service's 'BB' Long-Term Foreign Issuer Credit and Long-Term Local Issuer Credit Ratings that were issued on Feb. 6, 2006; and Fitch Ratings' 'B' Short-term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings that were issued on March 14, 2006. |
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