Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said Thursday it has acquired 300 shares in takeover target UFJ Holdings Inc., opening the door to counter a merger offer from a rival Japanese bank.
UFJ and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. already have an agreement, announced in August, to merge their operations by October 2005. However, SMFG has also been keen to acquire UFJ, and has continued to lobby for it despite having been spurned earlier.
With the 300 shares in UFJ, SMFG will be able to make counter proposals at UFJ's shareholders meeting expected next June, when UFJ and MTFG plan to seek shareholder approval for their merger proposal.