まゆの部屋

Tigers fans' input sought on listing
The Yomiuri Shimbun

Yoshiaki Murakami, head of the so-called Murakami Fund, urged the president of Hanshin Electric Railway Co. at a meeting Tuesday to listen to Hanshin Tigers fans regarding his request to list the baseball team on the stock market.

The meeting with Hanshin Electric Railway President Kyoji Nishikawa was held at the firm's headquarters in Osaka.

According to a report submitted Tuesday to the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, the fund, officially known as MAC Asset Management Inc., held a 39.77 percent stake in Hanshin Electric Railway as of Oct. 3, slightly up from 38.13 percent stake held as of Oct. 1.

The report also revealed that the fund spent 6 billion yen to acquire 6.9 million shares on Oct. 3.

At a press conference after the meeting, Murakami said: "There will be no Murakami Tigers. I have no intention of operating the team. And if the fans don't want to see it listed [on a stock market], I won't insist on it."

He also told reporters that he had asked the railway firm to find out what Tigers fans want, adding that he encouraged the firm to conduct an Internet poll on the issue.

Asked whether he would withdraw a plan to list the team on a stock market if one-third of the Tigers fans oppose the idea, Murakami said, "If many [of them] oppose the plan, we shouldn't press forward with it."

Murakami also told journalists that it might be a good idea to set up a Hanshin Tigers holding company if the team has a problem regarding pro baseball accords that have no provisions on teams being listed on the stock market.

It was the first meeting of the two company heads since it was revealed on Sept. 27 that the fund possessed a large number of Hanshin Electric Railway shares.

At the more than 90-minute-long meeting, the two also discussed how to increase Hanshin's corporate value.

Murakami told the press he had suggested the need to use the firm's real estate assets effectively, indicating he would discuss various specific issues with the railway firm in the future.

At the press conference, Murakami denied the fund would become involved in the management of the railway firm.

He also said the fund would hold the shares for the mid- to long term, stressing that this would not mean selling shares for profit, but he refused to say how many more of the firm's shares the fund would buy.

Some observers assume the fund has already bought more shares in the firm.

The fund has acquired more than one-third of the railway firm's shares and has therefore gained the right to veto such important proposals as changing articles of incorporation and mergers.

Under the circumstances, it is unclear whether the will of the railway firm will be considered by the fund, which is likely to lead their future talks.

At the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the railway firm's stock was priced at 1,019 yen per share--a 45 yen increase from last weekend--as Tuesday's deals closed.

(Oct. 12, 2005)