Following the half year loss posted by Japan Leisure Hotels in H1 2010; it has been announced by the Board of JLH that its main investors, DKR Oasis, is looking to exit either by selling its shares in a TOB under the Takeovers Code or by Japan Leisure Hotels selling its hotels. According to the Financial Times, this could mean that Japan Leisure Hotels will be listed from AIM.
the FT says -
One of the more colourful companies on Aim looks set to join the hundreds that have left the junior market over the past two years.
Japan Leisure Hotels operates a portfolio of so-called love hotels, one of those Japanese idiosyncrasies that make sense to the country’s inhabitants.
They act as a refuge for married couples who live with family, philanderers and those – often backpacking foreigners – looking for a cheap room for the night.
Japan Leisure’s biggest shareholder is DKR Oasis Management, which has an 87.6 per cent stake. It has told the board it wants to realise its investment. Japan Leisure said it did not expect the proceeds of any offer to “deliver a premium to the current share price, and it may even result in a discount”.
In the short term, said the company, a sale was likely to be at a substantial discount to the previously announced net asset value per share of 77p, based on the value of the assets on a going concern basis.
Japan Leisure tried to raise £100m when it listed in 2007, convinced that it would be able to consolidate the fragmented Japanese industry. In the event it had to settle for £3m at 50p a share, leaving DKR Oasis with its large stake. Another attempt at a £50m fundraising in 2009 failed.
The shares fell 2½p to 23p on Tuesday, giving a market capitalisation of £10m.
The Takeover Panel has ruled that any offer will be subject to the City Code, so any buyer would have to offer similar terms to minority shareholders. The board is willing to consider proposals from any new party for either the company or its assets.
The board believes that given additional time it might be possible to deliver greater value to shareholders than has been offered to date, and it is talking to DKR Oasis to see if it “would be prepared to exit its investment over a longer time frame”.
So far this year 178 companies have delisted from Aim, against 293 departures in 2009. The total number of companies on the junior market fell below 1,200 at the end of November, the lowest level since 2004.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/15a512b6-0d2e-11e0-82ff-00144feabdc0.html#axzz19RwfLEcf
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