Every manager's worst nightmare (at least those without a meaningfully large golden parachute), Christopher Hohn's TCI, received a defiant slap-in-the-face from Electric Power Development's (TSE Code 9513) management answering TCI's first large foray into Japan. TCI seemingly copped the financial equivalent "unwelcome feel" (i.e. an inappropriate advance for non-teenage non-Americans) by asking for an unsustainably large dividend hike after TCI amassed a reasonably large position, ramping the share price in the process to achieve some nice month-end marks.
American HF-cum-carpetbagger, Jana Partners, also joined the fray, buying shares and tossing pebbles rocks at management from the sidelines.
Unlike the pathetic collection of no-growth, cash-rich co's attacked by Steel Partners and other greenmailers, J-Power actually has reasonably chunky long-term investment plans, and so while their new shareholders would like them to use more debt to finance these projects, management has seemingly said in rather unpolite terms that shareholders should leave the managing to us.
Best of luck to TCI and Jana in their new endeavor! I am sure you'll find it a rewarding experience.......NOT!! In the event you find it frustrating might I recommend trying to "buy low" and "sell high", rather than "buying low", "buying pedestrian", then "buying more high" and subsequently praying for a miracle.
part of the neverending parade of foreign investors lured to Japan by the assumption that what works in their own market will work here..
ReplyDeleteNec Electronics maybe the next such example after the current short sqeeze is over and Perry & Co realize that NEC couldnt care less about their demands..
Aesop wrote about the well-known fable about the mouse and the elephant. However, few people realize that he wrote many drafts of this, a number of which ended with the elephant dropping a pile of dung upon the head of the mouse before stepping upon it with its hind leg....
ReplyDelete