U.S. investment fund Bain Capital said that it will acquire Asatsu-DK Inc., the third-largest ad agency in Japan, through a tender offer.
Bain Capital plans to purchase all outstanding Asatsu-DK shares at ¥3,660 apiece and all equity warrants of the firm in the tender offer, which was to start Tuesday and end Nov. 15.
The total acquisition costs will reach up to ¥151.7 billion.
Asatsu-DK will likely be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the completion of the acquisition procedures. Asatsu-DK stock ended at ¥3,170 on the TSE’s first section Monday.
The Japanese firm will end its capital and business alliance with London-based multinational advertising giant WPP PLC.
By coming under the wing of Bain Capital, Asatsu-DK hopes to better tackle its management challenges.
Asatsu-DK faces the need to promote ads using new technologies, such as virtual reality and big data, at a time when the advertising market in Japan has been saturated. The company also plans to beef up its content business abroad, mainly in Southeast Asia.
Asatsu-DK was established in 1999 through a merger of Asatsu Inc. and Dai-ichi Kikaku Co.
In the business year to December 2016, Asatsu-DK reported group sales of ¥353 billion, up 0.2 percent from the preceding year, and operating profit of ¥5.57 billion, up 13.6 percent. Net profit fell 55.6 percent to ¥2.38 billion.
For 2017, the company estimates group sales at ¥354.7 billion, up 0.5 percent, operating profit at ¥6.23 billion, up 11.8 percent, and net profit at ¥5.58 billion, up 134.8 percent.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.