Steel Partners launches buyout bid for leading Japanese sauce manufacturer, Bull-Dog
Less than two months after its failed hostile takeover bid for Sapporo Holdings Ltd., Steel Partners has launched a new buyout bid - this time for the Japanese sauce manufacturer Bull-Dog.
Steel Partners started the first hostile overseas bid for a Japanese firm in 2003, when it sought control of Yushiro Chemical Industry, the largest Japanese producer of machinery lubricants. Yushiro spent $27 million, about three times its annual profit, to fend off the buyout fund.
Even a failed bid produces cash returns. Steel Partners earned several billion yen when it sold its stake in instant-noodle maker Myojo Foods Co. to industry leader Nissin Food Products Co. after Myojo pursued a capital alliance with Nissin to ward off a hostile takeover by Steel Partners.
Steel Partners now holds more than a 5% stake in 28 Japanese companies, including Nissin Food Products Group and the Ezaki Glico confectionary company.
Steel Partners currently holds a 10.52% stake in Bull-Dog and is offering to buy all remaining shares at a 20% premium over the company's share price.