Bandai Namco Holdings announced on Wednesday that it has begun a tender offer on Thursday to acquire all of Gundam sponsor Sotsu Co., Ltd. 's common stock. Bandai Namco aims to make Sotsu a wholly-owned subsidiary and consolidate all the Gundam franchise licenses within the group.

Bandai Namco Holdings currently owns 22.79% of Sotsu's shares. Yuji Nasu , a founder of Sotsu, owns 29.27% of Sotsu's shares, while Nasu's asset management company Nusco Co., Ltd. owns 19.93% of Sotsu's shares. Nasu plans to tender all of the shares held between Nusco and himself. By combining Bandai Namco 's current holdings with Nasu and Nusco's stock, Bandai Namco would have more than 70% of Sotsu's stock. Sotsu's current management expressed their support for this offer.

The purchase price per share is 3,100 (about US$28) yen against the closing price of 1,865 yen (US$18) in the JASDAQ standard market on Wednesday, a large premium exceeding 66%. If Bandai Namco acquires all shares, the purchase price will be approximately 35 billion yen (about US$323 million).

Sources: Press release, Animation Business Journal ( Tadashi Sudo )



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