(Bloomberg) — Makino Milling Machine Co.’s official labor union reiterated its opposition to Nidec Corp.’s $1.6 billion offer to acquire the machine tool maker, arguing that the business sense of any deal was unclear.
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Members of the union said in a news conference Wednesday that they remain against a takeover by Kyoto-based Nidec, adding that the maker of precision equipment has failed to allay their concerns about its unsolicited bid initiated in December.
Nidec’s past acquisitions have resulted in deteriorating working conditions at target companies, the union has said in a letter addressed to Makino Milling President Shotaro Miyazaki in January. That letter was supported by more than 90% of the union’s 952 members, it said.
Unsolicited bids are rare in Japan, where strong labor laws often preclude widespread layoffs and often force consensus building with target companies.
Since receiving the offer from Nidec — which has a market capitalization more than 10 times its size — Makino Milling has said it’s also gotten several early-stage buyout proposals. It’s asked for a delay to the start of Nidec’s proposed tender offer to May from April for time to compare the different proposals.
Makino Milling is fielding approaches from MBK Partners and Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko Ltd., raising the prospect of a takeover battle.
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