Excerpts... TOKYO (Nikkei)--Pentax Corp.'s top shareholder, Sparx Group Co., plans to back the appointment of directors to the camera manufacturer's board who would support Hoya Corp.'s tender offer plans
This could bode ill for Pentax President Takashi Watanuki and others who voted down a proposed merger with Hoya and are said to be against a business integration with the firm. Sparx aims to use its 23.98% stake in Pentax to nudge the company toward accepting a business integration with Hoya. With all eight Pentax directors facing re-election at an upcoming general shareholders meeting scheduled for June 22, Sparx plans to propose the reappointment of former President Fumio Urano and former Executive Vice President Katsuo Morio to the board. The pro-merger Urano and Morio were relieved of their duties as executives earlier this month. ... Sparx apparently believes that its proposed appointments will go through if it can win the support of overseas shareholders who are highly conscious of measures aimed at improving Pentax's enterprise value. Sparx had supported Urano's efforts to pursue a merger with Hoya amid the belief that Pentax would not be able to survive on its own. ... Citing an internal rift at Pentax, Sparx will call for an overhaul of the camera manufacturer's leadership to prevent an erosion in the company's share price and other enterprise values. Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
