Rising Sun Management (RSM), an investment advisor to the Nippon Active Value Fund (NAVF), an activist, Japan-focused Investment Trust, has sent a letter to the management of Intage Holdings, a Japanese marketing research firm, urging that it undertake a management buyout (MBO) of the company.
Rising Sun Management (RSM), an investment advisor to the Nippon Active Value Fund (NAVF), an activist, Japan-focused Investment Trust, has sent a letter to the management of Intage Holdings, a Japanese marketing research firm, urging that it undertake a management buyout (MBO) of the company.
The letter noted a filing on 18 January, 2022 that showed NAVF in combination with Earl 1927 LLC and Michael 1925 LLC (the Investor Group) now hold 4.1 million common shares in Intage, making the Investor Group the company’s biggest shareholder with a 10.17 per cent stake. RSM also represents the Earl and Michael LLC vehicles.
The letter highlighted several areas of concern with how Intage is managed, including: a lack of widely held stock incentives for management and employees; an unsuitably expansionist acquisition policy lacking sufficient financial returns; and slow progress in digitalising operations and low levels of automation in the business generally.
