Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

It emerged on the 25th that Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is considering taking its shares private. A fund consortium formed by the Japanese investment fund Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko, or NSSK, and the British firm CVC Capital Partners is believed to have approached Kobayashi Pharmaceutical with a plan to acquire the company, take it private, and pursue management reform. Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said in a statement the same day that it is true the company received a non-binding preliminary joint proposal regarding a privatization from related corporate entities of the two firms as one option for enhancing corporate value, and that it will proceed with studying the proposal going forward. According to people familiar with the matter, the fund consortium is proposing a tender offer for Kobayashi Pharmaceutical in partnership with the founding family, a major shareholder, and because the company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, the total acquisition value could reach around 500 billion yen.