Oasis Applauds Landmark Ruling for Shareholder Rights and Fairness in M&A

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oasis Management Company Ltd. (“Oasis”) welcomes the Tokyo High Court’s landmark decision on October 31 to recognize a higher value for FamilyMart shares, upholding the lower court’s decision and further affirming the necessity of protecting minority shareholder interests in M&A transactions.

“This decision is a pivotal step towards ensuring fair treatment of all shareholders,” said Seth Fischer, founder and Chief Investment Officer of Oasis. “The stakes are high. As stated in METI’s Fair M&A Guidelines: The fair conduct of MBOs and acquisitions of a controlled company by the controlling shareholder is crucial for raising confidence in Japanese capital markets, both in Japan and abroad. The High Court confirmed that in the FamilyMart case, the parent company, through its controlled company, did not meet the standard of fairness. Far too often, however, M&A transactions in Japan prioritize the interests of parent companies or majority shareholders at the expense of minority shareholders. We hope this decision paves the way for a fairer approach for all M&A -- to the benefit of minority shareholders, Japanese companies, Japanese market integrity, and the broader Japanese economy.”

Oasis remains committed to advocating for fairness for all shareholders and improving corporate governance in Japan.

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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 for Responsible Institutional Investors” (a/k/a the Japan Stewardship Code) and, in line with those principles, Oasis monitors and engages with our investee companies.

The information and opinions contained in this press release (referred to as the "Document") are provided by Oasis Management Company (“Oasis”) for informational or reference purposes only. The Document is not intended to solicit or seek shareholders to, jointly with Oasis, acquire or transfer, or exercise any voting rights or other shareholder’s rights with respect to any shares or other securities of a specific company which are subject to the disclosure requirements under the large shareholding disclosure rules under the Financial Instrument and Exchange Act. Shareholders that have an agreement to jointly exercise their voting rights are regarded as Joint Holders under the Japanese large shareholding disclosure rules and they must file notification of their aggregate shareholding with the relevant Japanese authority for public disclosure under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Except in the event that Oasis expressly enters into the agreement as a joint holder requiring such disclosure, Oasis does not intend to take any action triggering reporting obligations as a Joint Holder. The Document exclusively represents the opinions, interpretations, and estimates of Oasis.