Showa Denko is set to buy another 51 percent share in Hitachi Chemical, a chemical unit branch of the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi. (Image via Mainichi.jp)

Showa Denko to take 51% stake in Hitachi: Nikkei

Reported by Nikkei on Monday, the leading chemical engineering firm in Japan, Showa Denko KK, is almost set to buy 51 percent of share in Hitachi Chemical Co Ltd., the chemical branch of the multinational conglomerate company in Japan, Hitachi Ltd.

Hitachi Chemical is a unit branch of Hitachi that produces materials for semiconductors, displays, and lithium batteries. With the purchase, Showa Denko will have bought all of the outstanding shares in Hitachi Chemical through a tender offer.

The transaction between Showa Denko and Hitachi Chemical could total to ¥950 million.

However, both officials from Showa Denko and Hitachi Chemical said that the report by Nikkei was not based on any report. In Tokyo Trade, the shares of Hitachi Chemical rose by 16 percent and shares of Hitachi rose by three percent.

Other than Showa Denko, there are also other bidders that wanted to buy stakes at the chemical unit such as Nitto Denko Corp, Bain Capital LP, and Carlyle Group LP.

Hitachi is known to be ambitious when it comes to expanding its business. By selling its non-core assets, Hitachi managed to expand its business overseas.

The businesses the conglomerate owns are various. For example, for the equipment for the chip-making manufacturer, Hitachi formed Hitachi Kokusai Electric.

Source: https://reut.rs/2XNPLlK