Bull-Dog Sauce Co. shareholders on Sunday approved the company's proposal to launch defensive measures to fend off an unsolicited takeover bid by New York-based hedge fund Steel Partners.
The defense system was supported by more than two-thirds of the votes cast at the general shareholders' meeting. It is a major setback for Steel Partners, which claims that Bull-Dog's move is a violation of the fundamental principles of shareholder equality.
Now the question of how the Tokyo District Court will decide on the legitimacy of Bull-Dog's poison pill becomes the focal point in the battle between the two combatants.