, Columnist
Japan's Cozy Culture Club
Transactions involving a domestic buyer and seller are typically cheaper than in other developed markets.
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Activist funds are finding fertile terrain in Japan as they identify what may be recurring mispricing of mergers and acquisitions. The hard part will be overcoming a deeply ingrained culture of cozy corporate ties to achieve better terms for minority investors.
Oasis Capital, led by Seth Fischer, has emerged as the largest minority shareholder in PanaHome Corp., a maker of prefabricated housing. The fund is now pushing for improvements to a stock-swap offer that parent Panasonic Corp. has made for the 46 percent of PanaHome that it doesn't already own. Fischer's argument is that the company would command a much higher price if sold in a competitive auction, the Financial Times reported.