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March 3, 2008 |
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SAPPORO HOLDINGS: Board Rejects Steel Partners Takeover Bid Sapporo Holdings Ltd.'s board of directors told shareholders to reject a takeover proposal from Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund (Offshore), L.P., the local unit of the U.S. hedge fund Steel Partners Japan, the Asahi Shimbun reports. As previously reported, a panel established to study the proposal rejected the deal 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." According to the same paper, Sapporo President Takao Murakami said that Steel Partners would likely seek only short-term profits and a takeover could damage the beverage maker's corporate value. Steel Partners has offered JPY825 a share for about 66.6% stake in the brewery. 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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