Japan's Udon Giant Toridoll to Take TamJai Private at a 75% Premium

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on February 17, 2025.

For operators watching cross-border consolidation in Asian casual dining, Toridoll's bid to take TamJai International private at a steep premium shows a Japanese parent tightening control of its Hong Kong rice-noodle business.

The privatization

On February 17, 2025, the Hong Kong exchange disclosed a scheme to take TamJai International (谭仔国际) private, proposed by Toridoll Holding (the Japanese udon group). Toridoll offered HKD 1.58 per share — about a 75.56% premium to the last trading day's close — giving shareholders an above-market exit, and would restore share capital via new issuance to ultimately own 100%.

Toridoll has funds to cover a cash consideration of up to about HKD 556M (~RMB 501M) and already held about 74.26% of TamJai. It would handle 5,198,610 outstanding options via a "see-through" option-offer price. The scheme requires legal and shareholder-vote approvals before TamJai delists from the Hong Kong exchange.

Financial backdrop

In results released February 14, 2025, Toridoll's overseas business earned JPY 78.51 billion in the first nine months of 2024 (~RMB 3.93 billion), up 21.4% from JPY 64.714 billion — though overseas segment operating profit declined. TamJai's nine-month 2024 revenue was HKD 2.125 billion (~RMB 1.93 billion), up year on year, but post-tax profit fell, with profitability under pressure.

Why it matters

For shareholders, the 75.56% premium is a rich cash-out. For TamJai, going private brings flexibility, lower listing costs, and stronger financial backing from Toridoll. The article notes the proposal still needs to clear approvals; figures and the offer are from February 2025 and are historical. (Related background: TamJai is one of Hong Kong's largest rice-noodle chains, previously valued around HKD 4.1 billion and pursuing mainland-China and international expansion.)