(Bloomberg) -- Speculation over a second activist hedge fund holding shares in Nissan Motor Co. added to the Japanese carmaker’s headaches, a little over a week after sinking profits and sales forced it to launch a last-ditch recovery plan.
Nissan’s financial woes were quick to draw the attention of Effissimo Capital Management Pte, a Singapore-based group that’s one of Japan’s most influential activist investors. Nissan on Thursday last week lowered its full-year operating income outlook by 70% and announced plans to cut jobs and slash production capacity.
The automaker’s shares jumped almost 7% in early trading Friday, after Japanese publication Diamond reported that activist investor Oasis Management Co. also holds a minority stake in Nissan.
The Hong Kong-based investor has had the holding longer than Effissimo, according to the report, which cited an unidentified source. The stake isn’t big enough to require Oasis to disclose its holding, it said.
Nissan shares soared eariler this week after news that Effissimo, a hedge fund that buys into distressed companies, controls 2.5% of the automaker.
A representative for Oasis didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Nissan said the company can’t comment on individual shareholdings.
Oasis has held stakes in other Japanese companies in the past, including cosmetics and household products maker Kao Corp. and pharmacy chain Tsuruha Holdings Inc., and has been vocal in calling for business improvement.
Last week, Nissan Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida said the company plans to terminate 9,000 jobs and cut output by 20%.
Uchida’s goal to sell an additional 1 million cars each year by 2027 now seems a stretch, after Nissan’s outdated lineup in major markets triggered the rapid decline in sales and profit.
--With assistance from Hideyuki Sano and Tsuyoshi Inajima.
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