TOKYO — SoftBank’s LY Corp and Bain Capital have once again raised their offer to acquire Kakaku.com, the Japanese operator of a popular price-comparison website, placing the company’s total value at 670 billion yen — approximately $4.12 billion — and pulling further ahead of a competing bid from Sweden’s EQT.
The legally binding proposal, announced late Wednesday, sets the per-share price at 3,384 yen, up from the 3,232 yen per share that LY and Bain had proposed back in May.
The two bidders also indicated the offer could climb even higher — to 3,500 yen per share — if KDDI Corp, one of Kakaku.com’s largest shareholders, agrees to back the deal.
EQT’s current standing offer remains at 3,000 yen per share, now trailing the LY-Bain proposal by a significant margin.
In response to the revised bid, Kakaku.com announced Thursday that it plans to open talks with EQT about its offer price, while still expressing general support for the Swedish investment firm. However, the company pulled back its formal recommendation that shareholders back EQT’s bid, moving to a “neutral” position and stating it would engage with both competing bidders going forward.
(Exchange rate: $1 = 162.49 yen)
