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PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Bain Capital and LY Corp. raised their proposed tender offer for the Kakaku.com (2371 JT) challenging EQT’s existing bid

Competing tender offers for a listed Japanese internet asset fit a pattern that has become familiar in Japan M&A: an initial private equity bid drawing a rival consortium, with the incumbent bidder then forced to decide whether to raise or walk.

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PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Bain Capital and LY Corp. raised their proposed tender offer for the Kakaku.com (2371 JT) challenging EQT’s existing bid

Japanese Stock Investment by Foreigners (Sep/12) -1522.8B (Prev. 689.6B)

Japanese Foreign Bond Investment (Sep/12) 1082.9B (Prev. 111.4B)

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AUSTRALIA

Arena REIT (ARF AT) - Co. said Chair David Ross will retire on November 20 and appointed independent non-executive director Adam Tindall as Chair Elect. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Austal (ASB AT) - Co.’s board is reportedly seeking a full takeover as multiple suitors circle its US operations amid a bidding contest. (The Australian)

BHP Group (BHP AT) - Co. revised its climate plan and now expects carbon emissions to remain higher for longer, with diesel consumption forecast to peak seven years later than previously advised. (AFR)

CSL (CSL AT) - Co. acknowledged shareholder frustration and missteps behind its disappointing commercial and financial performance, while saying its search for a new CEO is advanced ahead of its October AGM. (The Australian)

Transurban (TCL AT) - Co. said August average daily traffic rose 3.4% Y/Y, including Sydney +3.3%, Melbourne +3.5%, Brisbane +1.0% and North America +12%. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Viva Leisure (VVA AT) - Co. has reportedly appointed EY to explore a sale of its in-house technology and payments platform Meridium Global after previously telling investors it was considering options for the unit. (AFR)

Zip (ZIP AT) - Co. appointed Sarah Adam-Gedge as an independent non-executive director. (Dow Jones Newswires)

JAPAN

Fujifilm Holdings (4901 JT) - Co. has broken into the top three globally for digital camera shipments, surpassing Nikon by shipment volume last year amid strong demand for its X-series cameras. (Nikkei)

Kakaku.com (2371 JT) - Bain Capital and LY Corp. raised their proposed tender offer for the Co., challenging EQT’s existing bid. (Nikkei)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011 JT) - Co. signed a capital and business alliance with Preferred Networks and will invest around USD 64mln to strengthen joint development of domestic AI technologies for defence equipment and other systems. (Nikkei)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306 JT) - Co.’s MUFG Bank will introduce guidelines to finance defence-related companies, marking a shift from its previously cautious stance toward the sector. (Nikkei)

Nitto Denko (6988 JT) - Co. agreed to invest in a US-based fund focused on chipmakers and other AI-related hardware companies to identify potential collaboration partners. (Nikkei)

Panasonic Holdings (6752 JT) - Co. plans to increase production capacity for a core line of in-flight entertainment systems by around sixfold as air travel demand grows. (Nikkei)

Resonac Holdings (4004 JT) - Co. agreed to invest in a US-based fund focused on chipmakers and other AI-related hardware companies to identify potential collaboration partners. (Nikkei)

SoftBank Group (9984 JT) - Co. is launching a record JPY 1trln retail bond offering, which will lift its share of Japan’s outstanding corporate retail bonds to nearly 50%. (Nikkei)

Yokohama Rubber (5101 JT) - Co. is targeting BYD and other Chinese automakers with a new lower-cost tyre plant in Hangzhou as it seeks a larger role in Chinese automakers’ supply chains. (Nikkei)

SOUTH KOREA

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - The U.S. International Trade Commission instituted a probe into the Co., Apple and Google following patent infringement claims. (Newswires)

SK Hynix (000660 KS) - Co. said nothing has been confirmed regarding reports that it would work with Intel (INTC) on US manufacturing. (Newswires)

Other News

South Korea seeks to expand economic partnerships with Central Asian nations across areas including supply chains following a summit held in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Context

The structure here is notable in that the challenger pairs financial sponsor capital with a strategic domestic holder, a combination that on past occasions has carried both funding certainty and a synergistic rationale the pure financial bidder has to outbid rather than match. The established sequence in such contests is a bump from the challenger, a period in which the target's board and special committee weigh recommendation, and then either a counter from the original bidder or a withdrawal, with the spread between the two offers and the stock's premium to the higher bid telling the market's read on completion. Worth observing is whether EQT's bid carries board recommendation and any break fee arrangements, since those have historically determined how far a challenger must stretch. Hostile or semi-hostile contests of this kind remain less common in Japan than in Western markets, though shareholder activism and governance reform have made boards more willing to engage competing suitors. The immediate tells are any statement from Kakaku.com's board and whether the tender terms differ on conditions as well as price.

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