A Japanese court has rejected a British hedge fund manager’s bid to block a portfolio company’s bond issue, making activist managers 0-for-2 in court bids this year.
Silchester International Investors had sought to prevent Autobacs Seven, a Japanese auto parts retailer, from issuing 65 billion yen ($589 million) in convertible bonds, complaining it gave the company away for too little and could dilute its 4.6% stake. But the Tokyo District Court rejected its request, filed last week. In August, Steel Partners was also rebuffed in its effort to prevent a Japanese Worcestershire sauce maker from implementing a poison pill.
Autobacs said it would go ahead with the bond sale today.
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