Oji May Abandon Bid
According to press reports, it appears increasingly likely that Oji Paper will abandon its bid for Hokuetsu Paper. Oji's offer runs until September 4 and now appears unlikely to succeed. Oji management has denied the report and says it will continue to work for the offer's success.

UPDATE On August 30, the president of Oji Paper said the takeover of Oji Paper was likely to fail. James Abegglen, chairman of Asia Advisory Service, said the company was too aggressive and should have worked behind the scenes to accomplish its objective. If Abegglen is right, it demonstartes that Japan's business community still feels most uncomfortable with aggressive M&A activity.