Shigenobu Nagamori.
Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg
This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Japan’s Richest 2025. See the full list here.
After decades of successful bolt-on acquisitions, Shigenobu Nagamori, founder and chairman of precision-motor giant Nidec, hit a roadblock in his hostile bid for machine-tool maker Makino Milling Machine.
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The ¥257 billion ($1.8 billion) tender offer—unusual in Japan, where such deals are negotiated privately—was set to open in April, but in March, Makino, which had ¥234 billion in revenue in the year through March, said it would mount a “poison pill” takeover defense if Nidec didn’t give it more time to consider potential competing proposals. Nidec asked the Tokyo District Court to halt Makino’s plan, but the petition was dismissed and the company withdrew its bid.
For Nidec, which posted ¥2.6 trillion in revenue in the year through March, the offer was part of its strategy to turn machine tools, which account for less than 10% of its sales, into a ¥1 trillion business over the next decade. Nagamori’s wealth dropped to $2.8 billion on a 27% slide in Nidec shares over the past year.
