Reuters first with Resona’s multi-billion-dollar share sale; shares tumble

Reuters was first on Nov 5 with news that Resona Holdings, Japan`s fourth-biggest bank, was planning to launch a large capital raising to repay public funds. Sources told Reuters that Resona was aiming to issue about 500 billion yen worth of new shares by the end of the year. The Reuters story hit the screens at 1.36 am Tokyo time, more than 30 minutes before a similar but less specific story from the Nikkei business daily. The Yomiuri newspaper, Dow Jones, and Bloomberg also followed the Reuters report. Shares of Resona tumbled by their daily limit of 100 yen, or 16 percent, wiping out about $1.5 billion in market value soon after the open in heavy volume. Resona confirmed the story after the market close, revealing it would raise 600 billion yen. The story was the latest scoop by Reuters on Japanese capital raisings in the past year or so, including news on share sales by Mizuho Financial Group and electronics maker Hitachi.