Business Apr. 19, 2008 - 05:11AM JST ( 2 )

TOKYO —

Bull-Dog Sauce Co said Friday that the U.S. investment fund Steel Partners had sold its entire stake in the iconic condiment maker after its defeat in a high-profile takeover battle.

Steel Partners sold its remaining shares in the company as of March 31 and removed its name from the list of shareholders, a Bull-Dog spokeswoman said.

The fund was at the center of a heated takeover tussle last year with Bull-Dog that set off a legal battle that went all the way to the country’s top court.

The sauce maker became the first Japanese company to carry out threats of a “poison pill” defense, a tactic to block takeover bids by issuing new shares to dilute the stake of a bidder.

A spokesman for Steel Partners declined to comment on the fund’s decision to sell its shares in Bull-Dog.

The U.S. fund also sold all its shares in soy sauce maker Kikkoman as of the end of March, reaping 2 billion yen in profit, the Nikkei business daily reported, quoting sources.

Kikkoman declined to disclose details on specific shareholders.

After a series of failed takeover bids including for the two sauce makers and for noodle maker Myojo foods in 2006, Steel Partners has said it wants to avoid a hostile takeover bid for another target, Sapporo Holdings.

Unsolicited takeover bids are still rare in Japan where they are seen as an example of a more ruthless form of Western capitalism.

Last month, Steel Partners unveiled a revised takeover offer for the brewer that would limit its stake to one-third, after Sapporo rebutted its original bid.

The Tokyo High Court last year branded Steel Partners an “abusive acquirer” in a major setback to the fund and its head Warren Lichtenstein, who has said he wants to “educate” Japanese managers.

AFP