Cerberus turns up heat in row with Seibu Cerberus Group has applied greater pressure in its row with the management of Seibu Holdings, the Japanese railways-to-hotels group, in what is developing into a landmark corporate dispute in the world's third-largest economy. On Thursday the New York-based private equity group, the largest shareholder in unlisted Seibu, said it wanted to raise its stake from 32.4 per cent to almost 45 per cent, while nominating nine members to a board that can seat 18. That is a significant increase in the scale of a public tender offer Cerberus launched a month ago, under which it sought an additional 4 per cent - giving it the power to veto board proposals at shareholder meetings - and three seats on the board. Cerberus has no plans to go beyond that in case its offer "be perceived as a hostile takeover," according to one person familiar with the situation." Cerberus and Seibu fell out last year over the timing and price of an initial public offering of the Japanese company, best known for its chain of Prince hotels and Lions baseball team. Cerberus is seeking a much higher valuation than that favoured by Seibu management and is prepared to wait longer, according to people familiar with the situation. By lifting its target for ownership and pushing back the deadline for the tender offer from April 23 to May 17, Cerberus hopes to apply pressure on more shareholders to cash out some of their holdings, thus increasing its leverage over the Seibu board. Japan has not been the most amenable place for foreign private equity groups, as many company owners are uncomfortable with a business model that can involve holding assets for just a few years before selling and moving on. Domestic press has sometimes likened private-equity managers to hagetaka, or vultures, more interested in quick returns than matters of broader social responsibility. In the Seibu case, however, Cerberus has been a significant investor since early 2006 after leading a $1.4bn bailout of the company with Nikko Principal Investments, and it plans to remain a large investor after an IPO, according to people familiar with the situation. Its proposed slate of new directors includes Hirofumi Goto, a former commissioner of Japan's Financial Services Agency, and Yuji Shirakawa, a director at Aozora Bank, which Cerberus once controlled. Relisting has been a longstanding goal for Seibu since its core entity, Seibu Railway, was delisted in December 2004 for breaking rules on ownership disclosure. On Thursday Seibu said the group would make no further comment beyond the statement it put out on March 26, recommending shareholders reject the Cerberus offer. Earlier this week Bloomberg reported that former Seibu chief Yoshiaki Tsutumi, who holds 36 per cent of NW Corp, Seibu's second-largest shareholder, would not support Cerberus's plan to raise its stake in the company.