Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd., the target of a hostile takeover bid by industry leader Oji Paper Co., said Monday it has completed its planned new share issuance worth about 30 billion yen to major trading house Mitsubishi Corp.

This made Mitsubishi the largest shareholder of Hokuetsu, Japan's sixth-largest papermaker, with a stake of about 24 percent. The move made it uncertain whether Oji will succeed in its bid to obtain a controlling stake of more than 50 percent in Hokuetsu.

Hokuetsu said it issued 50 million common shares to Mitsubishi for 30.35 billion yen, or 607 yen per share.