Shares of independent corporate insurance agency (GA) A+ Asset were strong early on the 8th. Buying appears to be gathering after activist fund Align Partners Asset Management, which launched a tender offer, raised its price.
As of 9:44 a.m. that day, A+ Asset was trading at 9,050 won, up 480 won (5.60%) from the previous session. It climbed to 9,270 won intraday, hitting a 1-year high.
On the 5th after the regular session closed, Align Partners corrected its disclosure to raise the tender offer price for KOSPI-listed A+ Asset to 9,000 won from 8,000 won. The purchase period was also extended from the 7th to the 15th.
The increase in the tender offer price is seen as due to A+ Asset's share price rising above the tender offer price proposed by Align Partners. As of the close on the 5th, A+ Asset's share price was 8,570 won, higher than the previous tender offer price.
After Align Partners released a tender offer for A+ Asset last month, shares trended higher on expectations that A+ Asset Chairman Gwak Geun-ho's side would take countermeasures against Align Partners. Compared with before the tender offer announcement, the share price jumped more than 50%, from 5,900 won to the 9,000-won range that day.
Align Partners currently holds a 4.99% stake in A+ Asset. If the tender offer is fully successful, Align Partners will secure a 24.89% stake and become the second-largest shareholder.