Hoya Ups Offer to Pentax, Pentax Shares Shoot Up

Pentax Logo

Hoya Corporation is revising its takeover offer for Pentax to ¥770 per share and pay its stockholders in cash instead of shares. Hoya’s revised offer made Pentax shares jump 9.1 percent to ¥800 at the Tokyo close Monday, its biggest gain in 18 months.

Hoya and Pentax came to a basic understanding last December to merge both businesses, with Pentax folding into Hoya. Pentax shareholders did not approve of the Hoya offer which they deemed too low, prompting Pentax CEO Fumio Urano to offer his resignation.

Hoya’s offer then was to pay 0.158 of stock, or ¥709.42, per Pentax share. Pentax board members voted last Wednesday to terminate the merger plan.

The new Hoya offer, which is about 5 percent higher, is still not expected to win the approval of the Pentax board.

Meanwhile, the 64-year-old Urano, who has served as CEO for almost seven years, is set to be replaced by incoming president Takashi Watanuki, previously head of Pentax Philippines.

[Via: Bloomberg.com]

Published by Chris Malinao

Chris teaches Lightroom as workflow software to photography students at the FPPF, Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation. He also teaches smartphone photography.