Tokyo, Nov 15 - Japanese instant-noodle maker Myojo Foods Co. secured a $314.4 million white-knight bid from larger rival Nissin Food Products on Wednesday, trumping a hostile takeover attempt by a U.S. hedge fund.
After announcing the move, Myojo's shares were flooded with buy orders at 856 yen as of 0408 GMT, a 10 percent premium on their last traded price. The stock had already gained more than 25 percent since Oct. 27, when Steel Partners announced a $194 million tender offer for the firm.
Nissin's stock was trading down 2.3 percent.
Nissin, maker of "Cup Noodle" instant ramen noodles and the industry leader, offered 870 yen per Myojo share, well above the 700 yen offered by Steel Partners. The bid values Myojo at roughly 37 billion yen ($314.4 million).
Nissin said it was aiming for a minimum 33.4 percent stake in Myojo but would buy all shares tendered by existing shareholders.
Steel Partners is already Myojo's top shareholder with a 23.1 percent stake, but Myojo managers have opposed its attempt to buy the rest of the company, saying the fund has no compelling business plan for the firm.
Steel Partners could opt to sell into a Nissin bid rather than counter it by raising its own bid price. At Nissin's offer price, Steel Parters would more than double its investment, which it began building up in 2003 when Myojo was trading around 200 yen a share.
The fund initially bought a 10 percent stake in Myojo, and acquired the rest of its shares at an average price of 500 yen, Yusuke Nishi, managing principal of Steel Partners Japan, told the Financial Times last month.
That puts the average purchase price of its entire stake at just over 370 yen a share.
Steel Partners helped introduce hostile bids to Japan with two attempts to take over small firms in 2004. Although the bids failed, Steel Partners reaped huge rewards as the companies sharply hiked dividend payouts to fend off the unwanted offers.
Although hostile takeover bids are becoming less rare in Japan, no major attempt has succeeded so far.
In September Oji Paper Co. lost its landmark bid for smaller rival Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd., the first hostile buyout battle between established Japanese manufacturers.
Myojo shares have traded above Steel Partners' offer price since the day the tender was announced, on expectations that Steel Partners would sweeten its bid or Myojo would find a higher-paying friendly investor.