Hotel chain Unizo Holdings said Friday it has received a friendly buyout offer worth up to $1.3 billion from a SoftBank Group investment firm, in a deal that will help it fend off a rare hostile takeover bid from travel agency H.I.S. Co.
U.S.-based Fortress Investment Group will launch a tender offer from next week for all of Unizo's shares at ¥4,000 apiece, the companies said in separate statements, trumping the ¥3,100 that H.I.S. has offered.
Unizo has publicly opposed the H.I.S. bid, saying it lacked synergy and undervalued the hotel chain.