Internet services firm Livedoor Co. said Friday it is trying to set up a Cecile Co. subsidiary and will acquire a majority stake in the mail-order business for more than 20 billion yen.
The move is part of capital and business tieups the two firms announced the same day that are expected to strengthen Livedoor's online shopping business. Cecile has a customer base of 15 million people, mainly women, that Livedoor will be able to access.
Livedoor Marketing Co. will purchase a 25.7 percent stake in Cecile, or 99,900 of its outstanding shares, for 10.38 billion yen from a firm that manages properties for Cecile's founding family.
It will then try to buy another 24.4 percent, or 9,833,800 shares, at 1,000 yen per share through a public tender offer from next Monday through Nov. 15.
Cecile said it supported the tender offer. The founding family holds about 60 percent of the outstanding shares.
Cecile said it will issue Livedoor Marketing equity warrants for another 8,070,000 shares, or 20 percent of its outstanding shares, on condition that the tender offer is successful and its shareholders approve.
Established in 1972, the Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture-based Cecile grew rapidly with its women's underwear business and later expanded into other types of clothing.
It has been suffering from fierce competition recently.
The company, with about 871 employees, posted a group net profit of 31 million yen for the six months through June on sales of 31.3 billion, yen down 32.3 percent from the previous year.