Mitsubishi Corp. said on Friday it will launch a tender offer Monday to acquire outstanding shares in three of its affiliated food companies.
The trading company will tender offers of 390 yen per share for Nitto Fuji Flour Milling Co., 380 yen for Nosan Corp., and 360 yen for Nihon Shokuhin Kakko Co.
The offered prices are 12.79 percent to 24.59 percent higher than the closing prices of the three companies' stocks on Thursday, the trading house said.
Mitsubishi said that during the tender offer, which runs through June 15, it plans to acquire up to 13,404,000 shares of Nitto Fuji, 51,942,000 shares of Nosan and 6,286,000 shares of Nihon Shokuhin.
Mitsubishi is the largest shareholder in the three companies and has an equity stake of 34.72 percent in Nitto Fuji, 20.8 percent in Nosan and 30.63 percent in Nihon Shokuhin.
The acquisition will boost Mitsubishi's shareholdings in each company to 66 percent, it said.
Mitsubishi said in its statement that the proposed tender offer will contribute to reinforcing the revenue base of the companies and increasing their corporate value as well as shareholders' profits.
It also said that its plan was approved by the board members of the three companies.
Nitto Fuji became the nation's fourth-largest flour-milling firm when it was established in April 2006 by the merger of Nitto Flour Milling Co. and Fuji Flour Milling Co.
Nosan, a major player in the feed industry, expressed approval for the takeover bid in press releases, saying it will benefit shareholders while creating positive synergies in the businesses and improve their corporate value.