Oasis Management

Last updated

Oasis Management Company Ltd.
FormerlyDKR Oasis Management Company LP
Company type Private
Industry Investment management
FoundedJanuary 2002(22 years ago) (2002-01)
FounderSeth Fischer
Headquarters LHT Tower, Hong Kong
AUM US$3 billion (2023)
Number of employees
43 (2023)
Website oasiscm.com
Footnotes /references
[1]

Oasis Management Company (Oasis), is a hedge fund management firm headquartered in Hong Kong with additional offices in Tokyo and Austin, Texas. It is an activist investor, that has pushed for significant change at companies. In recent times, it has been focusing on Japanese companies.

Contents

In its 2022 activist investing annual review, Insightia ranked Oasis as the third most influential activist investor. [2]

Background

Oasis was founded in 2002 by Seth Fischer who previously was an Asian investment portfolio manager at Highbridge Capital Management. It was originally formed as a venture between Oasis Management Holdings and DKR Capital Partners named DKR Oasis Management. It ran an Asia-focused multi-strategy fund named DKR SoundShore Oasis Fund. [3] [4]

In December 2008, due to the 2007–2008 financial crisis, DKR Oasis laid off staff in its Tokyo office. [4]

In June 2011, the venture dissolved with outside money being returned. DKR Oasis Management was restructured into Oasis Management . [3]

In September 2011, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) fined both Oasis and Fischer HK$7.5 million ($961,767) each for trades done in 2006 relating to Japan Airlines shares. They were also publicly reprimanded. SFC alleged that Oasis placed several orders on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for Japan Airlines shares within 15 minutes of the market closing on 19 July 2006 after Japan Airlines announced a plan for a public sale of new shares. The trades appeared intended to drive down the closing price of Japan Airlines shares that day which would benefit Oasis funds during purchases of new shares in the offering. While Oasis and Fischer didn't admit trading strategy was designed to mislead the market, they agreed to accept SFC sanctions and took voluntary measures in 2007 to prevent similar events reoccurring. [3]

In May 2023, Fischer was a speaker at the Sohn Hong Kong hedge fund summit. He stated that concerns about China being uninvestable was overblown and that there were opportunities to be made investing in Chinese vocational education companies. [5]

Shareholder activism

In February 2014, Fischer sent a letter to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata which stated that the company should focus on the mobile game market. [6] In July 2016, it was reported that Oasis stood to make tens of millions after the success of Pokémon Go. [7]

In November 2015, Oasis called for Kyocera to pay back more than $4 billion to investors. The plan was for Kyocera to sell is $8.3 billion stake in KDDI and to give half the proceeds to shareholders. [8]

In February 2017, Oasis opposed Panasonic's plan to acquire its subsidiary PanaHome stating the price was too low. [9] In April 2017, Panasonic raised its offer to satisfy Oasis and other shareholders. [10]

In November 2017, Oasis proposed a management buyout as well as a request to examine the books and records of Pasona. [11]

In 2018, Oasis was opposed to Alps Electric acquiring Alpine Electronics stating it was ripping off Alpine's minority stock owners. However Elliott Management which held more shares supported the deal. [12] In January 2019, the deal went through and Alps Alpine was formed. [13] In March 2019, Alps Alpine stated that Oasis sued it for 38.4 billion yen ($345 million) in damages and had asked the Tokyo District Court to nullify the merger. [13] In March 2022, the court sided in favour of Alps Alpine. [14]

In October 2020, Oasis submitted a request to Tokyo Dome Corp to hold a extraordinary general meeting to replace its top management. [15] In November 2020, Mitsui Fudosan announced a 120.5 billion yen ($1.2 billion) bid for Tokyo Dome Corp. After the offer, Oasis decided to tender its shares allowing the bid to be completed in January 2021. [16]

In April 2021, Oasis opposed CVC Capital Partners’ buyout proposal for Toshiba stating it was too low. [17] In March 2022, Oasis voted at an extraordinary general meeting that Toshiba solicit buyout offers from private equity firms. It also voted against Toshiba plan to break itself up. [18] In March 2023 Toshiba agreed to be acquired for US$15 billion by a consortium of 20 companies, which was led by Japan Industrial Partners and included Orix, Chubu Electric Power, and Rohm. [19]

In May 2022, Oasis published details which alleged the Fujitec's founding family Uchiyama was abusing its control over the company. It later then called for an extraordinary general meeting to replace all of the company's outside directors. [20] In February 2023, Fujitec shareholders voted to replace three of the company's outside directors with four people nominated by Oasis. In March 2023, the board ousted Fujitec Chairman Takakazu Uchiyama. [21]

In February 2023, Oasis made demands to The Restaurant Group that it changes its management team. In the subsequent months it increased its shareholding as the share price dropped by acquiring shares from Odey Asset Management and Columbia Threadneedle Investments. In October 2023, when Apollo Global Management made a bid to buy The Restaurant Group for £560 million, Oasis stood to make £40mn in profits. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toshiba</span> Japanese electronics conglomerate

Toshiba Corporation is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors, hard disk drives (HDD), printers, batteries, lighting, as well as IT solutions such as quantum cryptography which has been in development at Cambridge Research Laboratory, Toshiba Europe, located in the United Kingdom, now being commercialised. It was one of the biggest manufacturers of personal computers, consumer electronics, home appliances, and medical equipment. As a semiconductor company and the inventor of flash memory, Toshiba had been one of the top 10 in the chip industry until its flash memory unit was spun off as Toshiba Memory, later Kioxia, in the late 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panasonic</span> Japanese multinational electronics corporation

Panasonic Holdings Corporation is a Japanese multinational electronics company, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded in 1918 as Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works in Fukushima, Osaka by Kōnosuke Matsushita. In 1935, it was incorporated and renamed Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. In 2008, it changed its name to Panasonic Corporation. In 2022, it became a holding company and was renamed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BlackRock</span> American multinational investment management corporation

BlackRock, Inc. is an American multinational investment company. It is the world's largest asset manager, with $10.08 trillion in assets as of December 31, 2023. Headquartered in New York City, Blackrock has 70 offices in 30 countries, and clients in 100 countries. BlackRock is the manager of the iShares group of exchange-traded funds, and along with The Vanguard Group and State Street, it is considered to be one of the Big Three index fund managers. Its Aladdin software keeps track of investment portfolios for many major financial institutions and its BlackRock Solutions division provides financial risk management services. As of 2023, BlackRock was ranked 229th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henderson Land Development</span> Real estate company

Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. is a listed property developer in Hong Kong and a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. The company's principal activities are property development and investment, project management, construction, hotel operation, department store operation, finance, investment holding and infrastructure. It is the third largest Hong Kong real estate developer by market capitalisation. The company is controlled by Lee Shau Kee, who owns approximately 70.17% of the share capital as of June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Children's Investment Fund Management</span> London-based hedge fund management firm

The Children's Investment Fund Management (UK) LLP (TCI) is a London‐based hedge fund management firm founded by Chris Hohn in 2003 which manages the Children's Investment Master Fund. TCI makes long‐term investments in companies globally. The management company is authorized and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority. Its holding company is TCI Fund Management Limited, based in the Cayman Islands. TCI derives its name from a charitable foundation called the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), set up by Chris Hohn and his ex-wife, Jamie Cooper-Hohn, and initially contributed a proportion of profits to the foundation. In January 2022, TCI was named by the Guardian as the world's top-performing hedge fund. It is known as one of the most aggressive activist investors.

Asia Aluminum is the largest aluminum extrusion group in Asia, with an annual designed capacity of 350,000 metric tons. It employed, directly and indirectly, in excess of 10,000 people, predominantly in the Asia Aluminum Industrial City which housed its primary manufacturing facilities, located in the Zhaoqing region of the People's Republic of China. Asia Aluminum made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Ackman</span> American billionaire hedge fund manager

William Albert Ackman is an American billionaire hedge fund manager who is the founder and chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company. His investment approach has made him an activist investor. As of January 2024, Ackman's net worth was estimated at $4 billion by Forbes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farallon Capital</span> American investment management firm

Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. is an American multi-strategy hedge fund headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded by Tom Steyer in 1986, the firm employs approximately 230 professionals in eight countries around the world.

Elliott Investment Management is an American investment management firm. It is also one of the largest activist funds in the world.

Azimut Holding is an independent, global group in the asset management, wealth management, investment banking and fintech space, serving private and corporate clients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pershing Square Capital Management</span> American hedge fund

Pershing Square Capital Management is an American hedge fund management company founded and run by Bill Ackman, headquartered in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guosen Securities</span> Chinese Securities Brokerage

Guosen Securities Company Limited is a Chinese state-owned financial services company headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with more than 70 branches and 11,500 employees nationwide. It has offices in 47 major cities in China including Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, Foshan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong. Guosen Securities provides sales and trading, investment banking, research, asset management, private equity, and other financial services with both institutional and retail clients in China and Hong Kong. It also operates a trading platform called GuoXin TradingStation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan Display</span> Japanese display manufacturer

Japan Display Inc., commonly called by its abbreviated name, JDI, is the Japanese display technology joint venture formed by the merger of the small and medium-sized liquid crystal display businesses of Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi.

Samena Capital is an Asia, India and MENA-focused alternative investments group, co-established in 2008 by Shirish Saraf and key partners from a cross section of industries and regions. This name was chosen due to the markets that Samena invests in. These are the Indian Subcontinent, Asia, Middle East and North Africa – a region collectively known as SAMENA. Also in ancient Buddhist script, Samena means "together" or "collective", which reflects the collective investment model the company is based on. The company and its subsidiaries employ 26 people in 3 locations worldwide, and has 48 shareholders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Point</span>

Third Point is a New York-based hedge fund founded by Daniel S. Loeb in 1995. The firm operates as an employee-owned and SEC-registered investment advisor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James B. Rosenwald</span>

James B. Rosenwald III is an American fund manager and academic who was the co-founder and managing partner of Dalton Investments LLC, an asset management company headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and adjunct professor at Stern School of Business at New York University. He invests in the Pacific Rim area. In 2020, Rosenwald co-founded Activist Japan investment trust Nippon Active Value Fund (NAVF) and launched its IPO.

Atlantic Investment Management is a global alternative investment firm founded in 1988 by Alexander J. Roepers (“Alex”). Atlantic has 29 employees worldwide with offices in New York City and Tokyo. As of August 2021, the firm had $1.9 billion in assets under management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JANA Partners LLC</span> Activist investor

JANA Partners LLC is an investment manager specializing in event-driven investing. It was founded in 2001 by Barry Rosenstein. JANA engages in traditional shareholder activism and socially responsible investing.

Maso Capital Partners Limited is a Hong Kong-based hedge fund that was founded and is run by Manoj Jain and Sohit Khurana. The fund is registered in the Cayman Islands under Cayman Islands company law and headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PAG (investment firm)</span> Asian investment firm

PAG is an Asian investment firm that manages multiple asset classes, including private equity, private debt, real estate and hedge funds. It is considered one of the largest private investment firms in Asia.

References

  1. ↑ "Form ADV" (PDF). SEC.
  2. ↑ "THE ACTIVIST INVESTING ANNUAL REVIEW 2022" (PDF). Schulte Roth & Zabel. 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Hu, Bei (15 September 2011). "Hong Kong Regulator Fines Hedge Fund Oasis, CIO for JAL Trade". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 Tudor, Alison (11 December 2008). "DKR Oasis, Fortress Trim Staff in Tokyo". Wall Street Journal.
  5. ↑ Hu, Bei (17 May 2023). "Chinese Stocks Make Comeback at Sohn HK Hedge Fund Summit". Bloomberg News .
  6. ↑ Lamar, Mia (26 February 2014). "Hedge Fund Wants Nintendo to Make Mobile Games". Wall Street Journal.
  7. ↑ Carew, Rick (12 July 2016). "Monster Bet on 'Pokémon Go' to Pay Off for Hong Kong Fund Manager". Wall Street Journal.
  8. ↑ Redmond, Tom (25 November 2015). "A Hedge Fund Calls for $4 Billion Payout From Japan's Kyocera". Bloomberg News.
  9. ↑ Redmond, Tom (20 February 2017). "Hedge Fund Oasis Pushes for a Better Panasonic-PanaHome Deal". Bloomberg News.
  10. ↑ Lewis, Leo (24 April 2017). "Panasonic seeks to placate activists with improved PanaHome offer". www.ft.com. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Ho, Joyce (13 November 2017). "Hong Kong-based activist fund ups pressure on Japan's Pasona". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Taniguchi, Takako (4 December 2018). "Hedge fund Oasis seen thwarted by Elliott on Alps-Alpine deal". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  13. 1 2 Fujita, Junko (13 March 2019). "Japan's Alps Alpine says Oasis Management suing it for $345 mln". Reuters.
  14. ↑ "Notice of Judgment in favor of ALPS ALPINE and ALPINE" (PDF). Alps Alphine. 24 March 2022.
  15. ↑ Ikuta, Genki (20 October 2020). "Hong Kong activist investor calls on Tokyo Dome to dump chief". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Mitsui Fudosan successfully acquires Tokyo Dome via tender offer". The Japan Times. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Taniguchi, Takako (13 April 2021). "Hedge Fund Oasis Says CVC Buyout Offer for Toshiba Too Low". Bloomberg News.
  18. ↑ Murdoch, Scott (24 March 2022). "EXCLUSIVE Activist fund Oasis backs call for Toshiba to solicit buyout offers -source". Reuters.
  19. ↑ Baigorri, Manuel (23 March 2023). "Toshiba Accepts $15 Billion Buyout Bid From Japan Consortium". Bloomberg News.
  20. ↑ Takashima, Yuta (18 December 2022). "Elevator maker Fujitec set for shareholder faceoff with Hong Kong fund Oasis". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  21. ↑ Taniguchi, Takako (21 June 2023). "Elevator Maker Showcases Growing Shareholder Activism in Japan". Bloomberg News.
  22. ↑ Barnes, Oliver (15 October 2023). "Activist Oasis stands to net £40mn profit from Wagamama owner sale". www.ft.com. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.