Kobayashi Pharma Rejects Management Reform Proposals

Osaka, March 27 (Jiji Press)–Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. rejected Friday management reform proposals by the top shareholder in the Osaka-based producer of health problem-causing supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice. At the day’s general shareholders meeting in the western Japan city, Hong Kong-based investment fund Oasis Management Co., which holds a 13.7 pct stake in Kobayashi, blamed the health care products maker for poorly coping with the beni koji crisis. Then the activist shareholder demanded that the founding family’s influence over the firm’s management be completely wiped away and that the articles of incorporation be revised to have an outside director chair the board. Meanwhile, Kobayashi President Norikazu Toyoda said the company “will give priority to making apologies and compensation” to beni koji supplement users and “build the foundation to prevent a recurrence” of a similar incident. The management team told shareholders that there is no need to change the articles, as Yoshihito Ota, who was invited from outside, currently serves as the board’s chair. A majority of shareholders voted down all Oasis proposals, including board member nominations, while endorsing the company’s director appointment plan calling in part for retaining former President Akihiro Kobayashi, a founding family member, on the board. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]