Takefuji Corp., Japan's third-largest consumer finance company, plans to sell shares of OMC Card Inc., whose stock has risen more than threefold in nearly three years.
The Tokyo company will offer as many as 28.8 million OMC shares; the stake was valued at $376 million when the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed Wednesday.
Naoki Morimoto, a Takefuji spokesman, said the sale may take place today. "We will sell the shares because we have profited from the investment," he said. "The purchase was purely for investment purposes."
Takefuji, which owns 13.5% of OMC, paid $105 million for the stake in March 2002.
