Nissan shares jump as second activist buys stake

Shares in Nissan rose strongly in Tokyo on Friday after it was revealed that activist investor Oasis Management has taken a stake in the Japanese auto group, just days after another activist bought shares.

According to business magazine Diamond Online on Friday, Oasis had bought shares in the struggling manufacturer before Tuesday's revelation that Singapore-based activist Effissimo Capital Management built a stake in the company.

Diamond Online did not state how large the Oasis share purchase was.

The alleged transactions come just a week after a huge profit warning from Nissan – its second this year – raising speculation that it could attract M&A interest from another auto manufacturer, or be pressured by shareholders to make even more sweeping changes to turn the business around.

Just last week, Nissan announced 9,000 layoffs and scaled back of global production capacity by 20% amid lower demand from China and the US. The company cut its full-year profit forecast by 70% and sold a 10% stake in Mitsubishi Motors.

The stock, which had surged 13% on Tuesday on the Effissimo news, was up a further 4.5% on Friday, pushing the share price to JPY428.50 by the close – its highest closing level since early September.