4527 Roht Pharmaceutical

"The British investment fund Asset Value Investors (AVI) is shaking up Rohto Pharmaceutical, a company known for its eye drops. In April, AVI launched a campaign to push for a review of Rohto’s business strategy. They set up a satirical website titled “Waking Up Rohto Pharmaceutical” and presented a list of 17 “proposals,” ranging from appointing female executives to withdrawing from the regenerative medicine business. A month later, in May, Rohto announced that Masashi Sugimoto (63) would step down in June. The prevailing rumor is that AVI’s pressure forced his resignation.

AVI gained prominence as an activist investor in 2018 after submitting shareholder proposals to TBS Holdings. The fund actively invests in Japanese stocks and has recently made shareholder proposals…