Nomura Aya, the eldest daughter of activist investor Murakami Yoshiaki, and others have acquired 5.06% of TV Asahi Holdings, putting the broadcaster at the center of the family's second campaign against a Japanese media company after Fuji Television.
TV Asahi Holdings listed Nomura in June as its eighth-largest shareholder, with 1.86%, in the notice for its annual shareholders meeting. She then bought more, and a large shareholding report filed on October 22 put the stake at 5.06%.
The disclosure follows a shareholder meeting at Fuji Media Holdings at which an investment fund's proposals were voted down and the company's own slate of 11 directors was elected. A professional in corporate defense, who has written a book on learning from activist investors, warned that listed companies may be underrating the importance of stable shareholders as cross-shareholdings are unwound.
A broadcaster's other asset
Fuji's meeting was widely read as a clear win for the company, and it rested on shareholders who stood with management. The same defense is what a 5% stake in TV Asahi now tests, at a broadcaster whose shares can be bought like any other property in a media portfolio.
The stake was reported by the Daily Shincho.