Bain Capital on Collision Course: Hostile Takeover of Fuji Soft in Sight

In the world of private equity giants, an unusually combative scenario is unfolding. On Wednesday, Bain Capital announced that it plans to launch a takeover bid for Fuji Soft, even if the board of the Japanese company should not be backing it, particularly if a competing offer from KKR fails. Bain aims to acquire nearly half of the shares of the Japanese IT company for an estimated $2 billion. Bain presents a clear challenge with a bid of 9,600 yen per share, which is 1.6% above that of KKR. Despite gaining the support of Fuji Soft's board, KKR secured 33.9% of the shares in an initial bidding round. Interestingly, Bain has the support of Hiroshi Nozawa, the founder and major shareholder of Fuji Soft, on its side. Nozawa and his family collectively hold 18.6% of the shares. An alliance between Bain and the Nozawa family could result in them controlling two-thirds of the company overall. This week, the board of Fuji Soft reaffirmed its support for the second phase of KKR's offer, despite the lower bid price of 9,451 yen. Bain expressed "serious concerns and distrust" towards Fuji Soft's rejection and emphasized that spurning its higher bid harms the interests of minority shareholders. Meanwhile, Fuji Soft's share price recorded a 1.3% increase to 9,781 yen in morning trading—an indication that investors are speculating on an even more intense bidding war.