The hostile bidding on two Japanese companies by a U.S.-based hedge fund may trigger other investors to try and do the same, according to hedge fund managers speaking at a New York press conference Thursday, Reuters reports.
Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund unsuccessfully attempted to purchase Japan-based Yushiro Chemical Industry and also textile firm Sotoh, but the idea that they even attempted it may have begun a trend, managers said.
Though unsuccessful, Steel Partners bids helped smack Yushiro Chemicals price up substantially, even in a land where hostile bids are uncommon.
"A bomb has gone off in the Japanese market and the ripple effect will be felt for years to come," said James Rosenwald, a partner in Los Angeles-based hedge fund firm
Though Yushiro and Sotoh are relatively smaller companies,
"These are small companies, but I think the trend has started and its only a matter of time before t passes on to larger companies," said Schilt.
In the United States, hedge funds suffered through a rough year, triggered by
