Japanese Bull-Dog repels US hedge fund Steel Partners'' bid

Standing its ground against an unwelcome bid from US hedge fund Steel Partners,
Japan''s Bull-Dog Sauce has repelled the latter''s takeover bid. The Japanese sauce maker employed the "poison-pill" tactic of threatening to dilute Steel Partners'' holdings by expanding its share base.

Bull-Dog Sauce has become the second iconic Japanese company to repel Steel Partners'' unfriendly takeover attempts in Japan this year. Earlier in March, this year, Japan''s third largest brewer after Kirin and Asahi, Sapporo, the owner of brands include Black Label and Yebisu brands, rebuffed Steel Partners by resorting to "poison-pill" defences.

Steel Partners, which had been determined to dismantle the resistance of Japanese investors to foreign takeover bid took its fight for its proposed 100 per cent acquisition of the popular Bull-Dog to Japan''s Supreme Court, which rejected the US fund''s plea by ruling that Japanese shareholders had the right to reject foreign bids.

Warren Lichtenstein, chief executive, Steel Partners, had announced that he wanted to "educate" Japanese managers. The failed attempt at educating Japanese managers leaves Steel Partners poorer by "several billion yen" in costs and a 4.4-per cent of the Bull-Dog stock.

In March, Japanese brewer Sapporo had won shareholder support for anti-takeover measures to keep the US hedge fund at bay, with over two-thirds of shareholders voting for the proposed "poison-pill" measures, despite Steel Partners urging investors to vote against the proposal.

Steel Partners moves reflect a new confidence in Sapporo, which is known for its Black Label and Yebisu brands, in the face of competition from the brewer''s bigger Japanese rivals.