Pickens Sues to See Japanese Firm’s Books

T. Boone Pickens Jr. is carrying his Japanese corporate battle to court with a lawsuit to gain access to the financial books of Koito Manufacturing Co., the auto parts maker of which he is the largest shareholder, Pickens’ lawyer said Friday.

Pickens filed the lawsuit in Tokyo District Court, his lawyer, Kanji Ishizumi, said.

“We are confident that Pickens will win. But it is all up to the judges,” Ishizumi said. Koito has not agreed to Pickens’ request for the right to look over its account books covering the years from April 1, 1979, he said.

Koito told Pickens to wait until Jan. 22 for a response, Ishizumi said. “But there is no reason why we have to wait that long,” he said in a telephone interview.

Pickens holds a 26% stake in Koito through his private investment firm Boone Co.

Last November, Koito’s board decided not to raise its interim dividend for the six months ended Sept. 30 to 7 yen from 4. Pickens had requested such an increase.

Koito said in a statement that the reason it asked Pickens to wait until Jan. 22 for a response was because he asked to see the account books just before year-end and new year holidays and the company needed time to consider the matter, the statement said.