Lone Star Plans to Sell Tokyo Star Bank

Lone Star is making plans to sell Tokyo Star Bank only a month after it grabbed a 30% stake in the mid-sized Japanese lender, Reuters reported Wednesday. Lone Star last month led a group buying into the bank after “entities set up by Japanese private equity firm Advantage Partners gave up its ownership due to their trouble repaying debt,” Reuters wrote.

(Reuters) – U.S. investment firm Lone Star has started preparations to sell Tokyo Star Bank only about a month after it regained a stake in the mid-sized Japanese lender, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Lone Star, the top shareholder in Tokyo Star with around a 30 percent stake, has asked several investment banks to submit proposals to advise on the potential sale, said the people, who were not authorised to comment publicly about the matter.

Last month a group led by Lone Star took over shares in the Tokyo Star after entities set up by Japanese private equity firm Advantage Partners gave up its ownership due to their trouble repaying debt.

Other shareholders in Tokyo Star include Shinsei Bank Aozora Bank and Credit Agricole , which extended loans to Advantage Partners when it bought the bank in 2008 near the height of a leveraged buyout boom.

They would also sell the shares once Lone Star finds a buyer, the people said. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Nathan Layne)