The Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan said Wednesday it will bail out a troubled Tokyo-based maker of water and gas meters and two Osaka-based real estate firms.
The latest decision brings to 11 the number of bailout packages announced by the IRCJ since it started up in May.
The IRCJ is tasked with helping heavily indebted firms that are deemed salvageable.
The meter maker, Kimmon Manufacturing Co., said it hopes to drag itself out of trouble by seeking a 3 billion yen capital injection from the IRCJ, as well as a 10.8 billion yen bailout package from its lenders.
"Given our depleted capital amid restructuring efforts, we decided to seek (help) to carry out a drastic overhaul of the company," Kimmon President Teruo Onoda said.
He said the decision was jointly made by the company and its main lender, Resona Bank, which is also the third-largest shareholder with a 4.79 percent stake.
Onoda said he will step down to take responsibility at a shareholders' meeting scheduled for June.
Kimmon's sales for fiscal 2002 dropped 6.2 percent from a year before to 51.58 billion yen.
In addition to plunging sales, Kimmon faltered in recent months after the Fair Trade Commission in July banned it from bidding on public works projects.
The FTC imposed the ban after Kimmon and 14 other firms were found to have rigged bids for orders from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Waterworks Bureau from around 2000 to July 2001.
In seeking the help of the IRCJ, the company filed a rehabilitation plan featuring the sale of noncore businesses and a focus on its meter operations.
Meanwhile, the IRCJ will also help out Osaka Marubiru Co., which operates Osaka Dai-ichi Hotel, and parent company Yoshimoto Tochitatemono Co., which deals in real estate. The firms suffer from mounting interest-bearing debts arising from excess investment.