TOKYO (Reuters) - Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. investment firm owned by SoftBank Group (T:9984), will offer to buy Japanese hotel operator Unizo Holdings (T:3258), launching a counter bid against travel agency H.I.S. Co (T:9603), the Nikkei reported.
Fortress will a launch tender offer as soon as the start of next week for all the shares in Unizo at a price higher than H.I.S.'s offer of 3,100 yen per share, the Nikkei said on Friday.
Unizo, which opposes H.I.S.'s bid, has sought help from Fortress as a 'white knight', the Japanese daily said, without citing sources.
Following the Nikkei report, Unizo said in a statement it was in talks with a potential partner and would hold a board meeting on Friday, without commenting further on the report.
Fortress declined to comment. H.I.S. representatives were not immediately available for comment.
H.I.S., which already owns 4.79% in Unizo, last month launched a tender offer to raise its stake in Unizo to as much as 45%. Unizo said it opposed the offer, setting the stage for a rare hostile bid in Japan.
Unizo has a stock market value of about 123.5 billion yen (962.1 million pounds), according to Refinitiv data.
U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management has been gradually raising its stake in Unizo and now holds 9.9% of the hotel operator, regulatory filings show.
Unizo shares closed at 3,600 yen on Thursday, or 16% above H.I.S.'s offer. Trading was suspended following the Nikkei report.