HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oasis Management Company Ltd. (“Oasis”) is the manager to funds that beneficially own 5.4% of Sanken Electric Co., Ltd. (6707 JT) (“Sanken” or the “Company”). Oasis has adopted the Japan FSA’s “Principles of Responsible Ownership” (a/k/a the Japan Stewardship Code) and in line with those principles, Oasis monitors and engages with its investee companies.
Oasis has been engaging closely with Sanken for some time, and on November 6, 2019, Sanken announced “Notice on Production System Optimization in Mainstay Businesses and Strategic Review of Non-mainstay Businesses” (https://www.sanken-ele.co.jp/en/fina/pdf/20191106e.pdf). This new value enhancement plan is a strong start for the Company, and Oasis would like to take this opportunity to publicly praise Sanken’s management and its Board of Directors for taking this critical first step.
Today, Oasis announces its “A Better Sanken” campaign in order to further monitor the Company’s progress on implementing its announced value enhancement plan. We believe that the execution of this plan will contribute significantly to enhancing Sanken’s corporate value in the long-term, which will be beneficial to all stakeholders.
Seth Fischer, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Oasis, said:
“Sanken is an excellent company that takes shareholder voices seriously and strives to enhance corporate value together with its shareholders. We are pleased to see that the Structural Reform Committee, composed of President Wada and three External Directors, has steered the Company’s focus toward concentrating business structures and accelerating growth. This is a great example of what good corporate governance can achieve.”
Oasis’s key objective for the “A Better Sanken” campaign is to monitor the quick and firm execution of the value enhancement plan. Implementation of this plan is crucial, as the Company’s market value today is underperforming the Company’s holding in its US subsidiary, Allegro Microsystems, Inc. (“Allegro”). We believe the underperformance is primarily due to the low margins of both the Semiconductor Device Business (excluding Allegro) and the non-core Power System Business. These low margins pose a serious risk, as the Company’s free cash flow has been negative for four out of the past five years.
More broadly, Oasis has been engaging with Sanken over the past year to encourage the Company to:
- Exit the Power System Business;
- Enhance Operations of the Semiconductor Device Business;
- Strengthen the Governance Structure; and
- Introduce Performance-Linked Director Remuneration.
Since Oasis began this engagement, the Company has:
- Announced a plan to examine and implement strategic options in the future, including selling the Power Systems Business to third parties;
- Announced a plan to withdraw from unprofitable products, consolidate plants, transfer production overseas, and promote outsourcing for the Domestic Semiconductor Business;
- Hired an Independent Outside Director with experience in business portfolio management; and
- Introduced a Performance-Linked Stock Compensation Plan related to operating income and ROE.
Full details of Oasis’s proposals and updates on Sanken’s progress are available at www.abettersanken.com.
We will continue to engage constructively with Sanken to help further enhance corporate value and realize “A Better Sanken”.
We welcome all Sanken stakeholders to contact us via the “A Better Sanken” website, and to join the movement to improve Sanken.
Oasis Management Company Ltd. manages private investment funds focused on opportunities in a wide array of asset classes across countries and sectors. Oasis was founded in 2002 by Seth H. Fischer, who leads the firm as its Chief Investment Officer. More information about Oasis is available at https://oasiscm.com. Oasis has adopted the Japan FSA’s “Principles of Responsible Institutional Investors” (a/k/a Japan Stewardship Code) and in line with those principles, Oasis monitors and engages with our investee companies.