Japanese Activism Threatens Exchange Deal

Shareholders in the Osaka Stock Exchange are threatening to vote against the re-election of the institution’s directors unless they seek to renegotiate the terms of a merger with the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The merger is part of an initiative to consolidate Japan’s 11 exchanges in the face of competition from China.

The deal was agreed last November and is due to complete this summer.

The main dissent comes from non-Japanese shareholders and is a rare example of activism in the shareholder base of a listed business.