Oasis Calls on Kao to Improve Business, Sends Shares Jumping
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Activist investor Oasis Management Co. called on Japanese cosmetics and household products maker Kao Corp. to improve its business, saying the stock has the potential to rise by more than 70% from recent levels. Shares jumped.
Kao has “significantly underperformed” its competitors in sales growth, margins, return on equity and stock performance, Oasis said in a statement released Thursday. Kao owns an “impressive stable of brands” yet the management has failed to unleash the full potential by not prioritizing marketing or distribution to drive growth, it said.