Japan Engineering Consultants Co. has decided it will carry out a 5-for-1 stock split as a defensive measure against a possible takeover bid by Yumeshin Holdings Co., according to Japan Engineering officials.
The decision came after Yumeshin Holdings, listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange's Hercules market for startup firms, rejected Japan Engineering's request to postpone a public tender offer until the latter's shareholders' meeting at the end of September.
Japan Engineering, listed on the Jasdaq Securities Exchange, may take other defensive measures unless Yumeshin decides to delay its public tender offer by the end of July, the officials said Monday.
Under such measures, Japan Engineering will give free equity warrants to shareholders in advance, based on the Aug. 8 list of shareholders, they said. The move makes a tender offer more difficult by increasing the number of shares outstanding.
After failing to reach a capital tieup agreement with the construction consulting company, Yumeshin Holdings, the parent of construction engineering services company Yumeshin Co., announced a plan July 11 to buy Japan Engineering through a tender offer scheduled to start Wednesday and run for 21 days.
A growing number of Japanese firms are now studying similar defensive measures.