• Bain Capital the only bidder
• Lone Star walked away
• The offer price not easy to accept for the target

The second-round bid for Nikkon Holdings has been collected, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Bain Capital was the only bidder to submit a binding bid for the listed Japanese logistics company after Lone Star walked away, they noted.

The binding bid price submitted in the final round, however, was not easy for the target company to accept, said two of the sources, adding the outcome of the bidding process remains uncertain.

This news service reported on 18 August that Bain Capital is among the shortlisted bidders for Nikkon Holdings, while Lone Star Funds, the global investment firm, has also been shortlisted. Second-round bids were set to be collected in early September, the article added.

Through the auction process, Nikkon aims to structure a take-private deal via the management buyout (MBO) scheme, this news service reported on 19 May.

The company has faced activist pressure since last year and has been reviewing its options with Nomura Securities, which is now running the take-private auction process, according to the 19 May report.

Nikkon’s shares climbed nearly 28% following the report, reaching a peak of JPY 6,689 on 23 June from JPY 5,231 on 19 May, before closing at JPY 4,550 today (21 October).

The company’s market capitalisation stood at JPY 575.4bn (USD 3.6bn) today.

Bain Capital and Lone Star declined to comment.

Nikkon did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.