Daily Brief Japan: Digital Holdings Inc, Daihen Corp, Tsuruha Holdings, SBI Shinsei Bank, Internet Initiative Japan, Mitsubishi Research Institut, Kaken Pharmaceutical, ROHM Co Ltd, Ichigo Inc and more

• Today after the close, Hakuhodo Dy Holdings (2433 JP) announced changes to the terms of its Tender Offer for Digital Holdings Inc (2389 JP), which faces an overbidder in SilverCape. 
• Hakuhodo had bid ¥1,970. Silvercape came over the top with a proposed ¥2,380 but a delay for approvals. DH is fighting against SilverCape because of “remaining minority shareholder risk.”
• That’s garbage. Utter blatherskite. Trumpworthy trumpery. Now Hakuhodo DY has lowered the minimum threshold making it hard to miss, and raised the price 2.3% to ¥2,015.

• Yesterday saw the announcement of a secondary offering structured like a delayed pricing ABO.
• 1.5mm shares which is 7.5% of shares out, 25% of Max Real World Float, and 9 days of ADV. There’s more cross-holdings to come out later at some point.
• Though it is not particularly expensive, Momentum is not this stock’s friend right now.

• Hakuhodo Dy Holdings (2433 JP) increased its Digital Holdings Inc (2389 JP) tender offer price by 2.3% to JPY2,015, 7.1% below the last close and 15.3% below SilverCape’s JPY2,380 offer.
• The lower limit has been reduced to a 24.67% ownership ratio. Hakuhodo’s confidence in passing the EGM share consolidation vote relies on AGM voting trends and passive votes.
• Hakuhodo’s acceptances as of 28 October exceed the lower limit. The revised Hakudodo offer will severely dent the chances of SilverCape’s offer.

• The Tsuruha-Welcia merger creates Japan’s largest drugstore alliance, poised for long-term growth and market dominance, driven by an expected JPY 50B in synergies over three years.
• A two-step corporate action—share exchange (Dec 1, 2025) followed by an Aeon TOB—provides structural certainty and strategic backing, securing the combined entity’s market leadership.
• These catalysts establish a large market leader in the consumer staples space, suggesting a timely opportunity to gain exposure to the new entity.

• SBI Shinsei Bank (8303 JP), a Japanese financial institution, aims to raise around US$2bn in its Japan listing.
• SBI Shinsei Bank (SBISB) is a Japanese financial institution providing a range of financial products and services to both individual and institutional customers.
• In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.

• Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) is a pioneering Japanese IT services provider, well-positioned to capitalize on the country’s accelerating digital transformation. Its core strengths lie in its robust network infrastructure and a comprehensive suite of services spanning connectivity, cloud, and systems integration.
• The company is experiencing solid growth, driven by strong demand for cloud services and large-scale network projects. The mid-term plan targets continued revenue and profit expansion by deepening relationships with its large enterprise and government client base through integrated service offerings.
• While competition from domestic telecoms and global cloud giants is a key challenge, IIJ’s established reputation for reliability, advanced technological capabilities, and loyal customer base provide a solid foundation for sustained growth. However, recent cybersecurity incidents highlight the operational risks inherent in the business.

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• Positioned to rebuild – FY9/25 results saw MRI record YoY revenue growth for the first time in two years, profit growth for the first time in three years, and a record-high GPM of 23.7% driven by high consultant utilization.
• Earnings visibility is improving, driven by strong order growth (+19.4 % YoY at TTC) and a rising backlog.
• However, we believe FY9/26 guidance indicates management’s priority is to rebuild the business, with key initiatives to expand the concentration domains in TTC (electric power and energy, medical and long-term care, business analytics and AI) and the growth area in ITS (public and electric power, HR and education, financial, DA and AI). 

• Kaken Pharmaceutical (4521 JP) reported rather underwhelming earnings in H1FY26, with revenue, operating profit and net profit witnessing significant drop as upfront payments received last fiscal put pressure.
• Kaken’s major drug Clenafin saw revenue rise 1.5% to ¥9.3B on AG launch, while Ecclock helped drive revenue growing 12% YoY to ¥1.5B.
• FY26 guidance revised downwards to ¥86.3B (down 8% YoY). Kaken needs an immediate strong revenue driver to rescue it from pangs of drug price revision and generic competition.

• ROHM Co Ltd (6963 JP) ‘s strong performance in H1 FY25 is overshadowed by weak guidance for H2 FY25.
• We expect H2 FY25 to be a pause in the structural reform journey, and the details are discussed in this insight.
• Trading at just 0.8x P/B, we continue to like the name and remain optimistic about the second Mid-Term Management Plan; details are shared in this insight.

Key points (machine generated)

• Ichigo Co., Ltd. reported a 64.3% increase in operating profit to 11,261 million yen for the interim period ending February 2026.
• Sales rose by 40.6% to 51,024 million yen, driven by strong stock and flow revenue.
• The company focuses on real estate value enhancement and renewable energy, aiming for record profits in the current fiscal year.

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