In a letter seen by Reuters, 3D Investment Partners, a fund based in Singapore, asked outside directors of Sapporo Holdings to take the lead in reevaluating a plan to revitalise the Japanese beer company.
In a letter from November 3, the fund said it was “deeply disappointed” by the outside directors’ answer to the value enhancement plan that 3D had given on October 28. It wasn’t clear right away what the directors’ response was, and it wasn’t clear right away what 3D’s original ideas were.
The fund has asked the five outside directors, among other things, to put off the Wednesday announcement of a new business plan.
3D Investment Partners and Sapporo Holdings both said they didn’t have anything to say about the report.
The fund pointed out that Sapporo Holdings had not met its sales goal in the last 15 years and that its return on equity (ROE) had averaged 2% in the last five years, which was much lower than its competitors Kirin Holdings’ 14% and Asahi Group Holdings’ 11%, as reported by the Nikkei newspaper.
In 2007, a U.S. activist fund called Steel Partners tried to take over Sapporo Holdings. Steel Partners had asked the company to sell off underperforming units and improve how it managed its real estate holdings.
The buyout didn’t work out, and in 2010, Steel Partners sold most of its remaining shares in Sapporo.
In Tokyo’s morning trade, shares of Sapporo Holdings went up 0.2%, which was less than Kirin’s 1.7% rise and Asahi’s 1.9% rise.
