SBI Holdings Inc. said it doesn’t have concrete plans to take consumer lender Shinsei Bank private, denying a local media report that sent shares up by the most in 14 months in early Tokyo trading.

The response came after Kyodo reported that Japan’s largest online brokerage will hold discussions with the nation’s Financial Services Agency to draft a detailed plan.

SBI, which is planning to increase its stake in Shinsei to above 50% said while it’s true it’s looking at various options to improve the lender’s performance, it doesn’t have specific plans to delist the company. Shinsei Bank also denied any concrete plans to go private.

Shinsei Bank shares pared earlier gains to trade 7.7% higher in Tokyo after the statements, while SBI shares traded 1% lower.

This marks the latest twist in a saga that began more than a year ago when SBI launched a rare unsolicited tender offer to increase its stake to a level that would give it effective control of Shinsei without having to go through additional regulatory hurdles.

SBI’s Chief Executive Officer Yoshitaka Kitao previously said the brokerage, in conjunction with the government, has the option to delist Shinsei Bank in order to pay back funds the lender owes to taxpayers.

Source:
courtesy of BLOOMBERG

by Patrick Winters

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