Oji Paper Co. President Kazuhisa Shinoda will ask Daishi Bank President Kunito Ojima on Thursday to sell the bank's 2 percent equity stake in Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd. to Oji, company sources said.
Shinoda, who will visit Niigata on Thursday and Friday, will make the request as part of the nation's No. 1 papermaker's attempt to take over the No. 6 papermaker, the sources said.
Daishi Bank is a mid-ranking regional bank in Niigata Prefecture, where Hokuetsu Paper's main factory is located.
Ojima said last Thursday, after a meeting with Hokuetsu Paper President Masaaki Miwa, that his bank "will honor" Hokuetsu's intention to reject Oji's unsolicited bid.
Shinoda is also set to meet with Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida, Niigata Mayor Akira Shinoda and Nagaoka Mayor Tamio Mori during his two-day trip to Niigata.
Shinoda is seeking to arrange a meeting with Hokuetsu Bank President Kuniaki Nozaki. Hokuetsu Bank owns 2 percent of Hokuetsu Paper, and Nozaki has also pledged to Miwa that his bank would reject the Oji bid.
The bid, which began Aug. 2, is the first hostile takeover attempt in Japan by a major domestic firm for a rival in the same industry. Oji is seeking to acquire a majority stake in Hokuetsu.