Oasis Management founder Seth Fischer said his activist fund has increased its stake in Nidec Corp. to become the largest shareholder, strengthening its call for the troubled Japanese motor maker to consider a sale. The move would give Oasis a larger stake than Nidec's founder, Shigenobu Nagamori, who resigned as chairman emeritus earlier this year after past accounting issues came to light. Nagamori directly holds about 8.3% of Nidec's shares, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Fischer spoke in an interview with Bloomberg News in Tokyo.
Oasis last week called on Nidec's board to hire financial advisers to solicit proposals from potential buyers and to consider taking the company private. Nidec, the world's largest manufacturer of precision motors, has been embroiled in an accounting scandal since last year, with probes revealing widespread fraud in its accounting and quality control at multiple subsidiaries. The Kyoto-based manufacturer booked more than ¥600 billion ($3.8 billion) in writedowns for the year ended March 31, and its auditor has refused to sign off on its financial statements.
Nidec's stock is currently designated under special alert by the Tokyo Stock Exchange and could face delisting if it doesn't secure an unqualified auditor's opinion, Oasis said in a statement. The fund said it was "deeply disappointed" by Nidec's persistent accounting irregularities. Since disclosing its stake in March, Oasis has flagged concerns about Nidec's "corporate culture" and proposed board appointments. Oasis held 7.97% of Nidec's shares as of Sept. 9, according to Bloomberg data.
Oasis currently manages around $13.6 billion in disclosed Japanese equity stakes, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Its holdings include Kakaku.com Inc., drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. and cosmetics firm Kao Corp.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing