Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd., the target of a hostile takeover bid by Oji Paper Co., said Monday it is considering providing printing paper to the Kye Sung Paper Co. group of South Korea under a business alliance.
Hokuetsu has been holding talks with Kye Sung since April on a tieup that would include Hokuetsu providing printing paper under the Kye Sung brand, but nothing concrete has been decided, Hokuetsu said in a statement.
The envisioned tieup would help Hokuetsu raise its corporate value and is likely to give it a further edge in fending off the unwanted buyout attempt.