Swedish Fund to Launch Tender offer for Tabelog Operator

Tokyo, May 12 (Jiji Press)–Swedish investment fund EQT AB said Tuesday that it will conduct a tender offer for Japan’s Kakaku.com Inc., the operator of the Tabelog user-generated restaurant review website. The fund will offer 3,000 yen per share, valuing the deal at about 590 billion yen. “We look forward to partnering with management to support the company’s continued ability to adapt and grow in an increasingly AI-driven environment,” EQT said in a statement. Kakaku.com has expressed support for the takeover bid, which will begin Wednesday and conclude on July 2. It will be taken private if the bid is successful. Kakaku.com’s current major shareholders KDDI Corp. and Digital Garage Inc. also back EQT’s tender offer. LY Corp., which operates messaging app Line and internet portal Yahoo! Japan, had also made a joint acquisition proposal with U.S. investment fund Bain Capital for the Tabelog operator. Founded in 1997, Kakaku.com also operates the price comparison platform Kakaku.com and job search service Kyujin Box. Its group sales in the fiscal year ended March stood at 94.1 billion yen, and its net profit came to 18.8 billion yen. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]