Japan's Hoya mulls tender offer for Pentax

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2007

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's leading optical glass maker Hoya Corp. said Friday it is considering launching a tender offer for Pentax Corp, a digital cameras manufacturer, instead of a merger through a share swap.

The two companies agreed last December to merge their operations through a share swap that would take effect from October 2007, but Hoya said in a statement that it may offer to buy Pentax shares instead.

The Nikkei business daily reported in its evening edition that Hoya has proposed a new merger plan under which it will raise its proposed offer for Pentax by about 20 percent to 770 yen per share to secure the support of shareholders.

The two companies, which are both manufacturers of medical equipment, had said in December they planned to sign a...