Yahoo Japan plans tender offer for retailer Zozo at $3.7B
Posted September 11, 2019 8:35 pm.
TOKYO — Yahoo Japan Corp. says it will put up a tender offer, estimated at 400 billion yen ($3.7 billion), for Zozo Inc., a Japanese online retailer started by a celebrity tycoon.
Yahoo Japan announced the plan Thursday, which includes a business alliance with Zozo.
Zozo Chief Executive Yusaku Maezawa is known for lavish spending on artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Stradivarius violin and a future trip to the moon.
Maezawa, who owns nearly 37% of the company, will step down and sell nearly 93 million shares of his more than 112 million shares, according to the plan.
Yahoo Japan will own up to 50.1% under the tender offer, set for early October, it said.
Maezawa has drawn a great deal of attention in the relatively conservative Japanese business world.
The Associated Press
