Itochu Unit’s Shares Jump as Activist Fund Pushes Privatization

Itochu-Shokuhin Co. shares jumped by the limit after US activist fund Sapphireterra Capital urged the unit to be taken private by its parent Itochu Corp., the latest high-profile proposal by investors of Japanese companies to boost shareholder value.

Chicago-based Sapphireterra said it would be “most rational” for Itochu to make its wholesale food subsidiary wholly owned through a public offering for the shares, according to a letter sent to the board of directors of Itochu-Shokuhin seen by Bloomberg. The appropriate price for the unit would be around ¥14,000 per share, a premium of about 51% from Thursday’s closing price, ...