Shares of Yungtay Engineering Co (永大機電) moved sharply higher yesterday after the company announced a day earlier that major shareholder Hitachi Ltd had offered to bring the Taiwanese elevator manufacturer fully under its ownership.
Yungtay shares closed up 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, at NT$63.4, with 466 million shares changing hands on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), where the benchmark TAIEX closed down 0.76 percent amid concerns over power rationing in China.
At a news conference after the market close on Monday, Yungtay spokesman Lin Tung-sheng (林東昇) said that Hitachi would acquire the remaining 28.9 percent of Yungtay that it does not yet own.
Photo courtesy of Yungtay Engineering Co via CNA
Hitachi has agreed to launch a stock swap to buy Yungtay shares for NT$65.1 each, a 12.82 percent premium over its closing price of NT$57.5 on Monday, Lin said.
Hitachi and its affiliates own a 71.1 percent stake in Yungtay and hold more than half of its board’s director seats, with Makoto Nagashima as chairman.
Yungtay is to hold a special general meeting on Nov. 16 to discuss the deal with Hitachi, and if the plan is approved by shareholders, it will apply with the Financial Supervisory Commission to delist its shares from the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Despite Yungtay’s plan to delist, Hitachi said that it would continue to increase its investment in Yungtay and extend its reach in the global market, while also continuing technology exchanges between Taiwan and Japan.
Hitachi, which has been a Yungtay partner for more than 50 years, has been eyeing a takeover since 2018, when it proposed a tender offer to acquire the company’s common shares on the open market at NT$60 per share.
Shareholders led by property developers Pau Jar Group (寶佳集團) wrestled with Hitachi for control.
At one point Pau Jar controlled the board, but as Hitachi steadily acquired Yungtay shares on the open market, the group led by Pau Jar steadily lost influence.
On May 10, Hitachi’s Yungtay stake reached 67.24 percent, exceeding the two-thirds ownership threshold required by the Business Mergers and Acquisitions Act (企業併購法) and giving Hitachi the right to hold a special shareholders’ meeting to propose their bid.
The stake held by Pau Jar and its allies has shrunk to 7.86 percent.
Yungtay president Tsai Shang-yu (蔡尚育) on Monday said that the company and Hitachi have entered into discussions about how to penetrate the global market, including China, where Hitachi is the largest supplier of elevators.
“The Yungtay brand has very good market penetration in China, while Hitachi is No. 1,” Tsai said. “We are in continual discussion on how to maximize our combined forces to create maximum value.”
Becoming part of the Hitachi group would give it access to advanced technology in “smart” elevators, remote control and high-speed elevators, as well as Hitachi’s cloud digital technology, improving the company’s products and allowing for remote maintenance, Yungtay said.
“Yungtay has worked with Hitachi since we were founded more than half a century ago,” it said. “This is a merger with a deep basis of friendship and cooperation.”
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