Jamie Halse is managing director of Senjin Capital, which is currently launching a fund that will invest in and engage with Japanese public companies to improve corporate value. Formerly, he was a fund manager at Platinum Asset Management.
A watershed moment occurred back in August, when Seven & i Holdings announced to the market that it had received a takeover bid from Alimentation Couche-Tard. That the Canada-based company made the offer at all is a sign of the changing environment in Japan, but the degree of change was further highlighted by Seven & i's actions in announcing the offer to the market, and in forming a special committee of its outside directors to consider it. Last week, Seven & i announced the special committee is now considering a proposal from its executives to acquire the company, at a price above that offered by Couche-Tard.
