Key facts
- LY Corp and Bain Capital have raised their bid for Kakaku.com to 3,384 yen per share.
- The new offer values the Japanese price-comparison website operator at 670 billion yen ($4.12 billion).
- A further increase to 3,500 yen per share is possible if KDDI Corp supports the bid.
- Kakaku.com has withdrawn its recommendation for EQT's rival offer and adopted a neutral stance.
- Kakaku.com will engage in discussions with both bidders.
SoftBank's LY Corp and Bain Capital have again increased their offer for Japanese price-comparison website operator Kakaku.com, valuing the company at 670 billion yen ($4.12 billion). This latest bid, at 3,384 yen per share, widens the gap over a rival offer from Sweden's EQT, which stands at 3,000 yen per share.
LY and Bain have indicated a potential further increase to 3,500 yen per share if KDDI Corp, a significant shareholder in Kakaku.com, agrees to support their bid. In response to the sweetened proposal, Kakaku.com announced it would seek discussions with EQT regarding its offer price while maintaining its support for the Swedish firm's bid. However, Kakaku.com has withdrawn its previous recommendation for shareholders to support EQT's offer, changing its stance to 'neutral' and stating it will engage in talks with both bidders.
Kakaku.com operates the price comparison site Kakaku.com, the restaurant review and reservation platform Tabelog, and the job search service Kyujin Box. Digital Garage and KDDI, which collectively hold 38.1% of Kakaku.com's shares, had previously agreed to sell their stakes in the EQT tender offer. Shares in Kakaku.com rose 0.7% to 3,450 yen in afternoon trade, suggesting investors anticipate further bidding.
Japanese companies have increasingly become targets for overseas investors, partly due to governance reforms encouraging firms to become more open to going private. This trend has been observed in other M&A activities in Japan, such as the takeover battle for Fuji Soft last year.