Activist Sapphireterra Pushes Sanyo Shokai for Special Dividend

Activist fund Sapphireterra Capital LLC is calling on Sanyo Shokai Ltd. to pay a special dividend of ¥1,200 ($7.50) per share, ramping up pressure on the Japanese apparel maker to improve shareholder returns, according to people familiar with the matter.

Such a special dividend would be nearly nine times the amount Tokyo-based Sanyo Shokai paid out to shareholders last fiscal year — ¥139 per share — and would cost the company about ¥12 billion based on the current number of outstanding shares.