Silchester International Investors, a London-based firm that has advocated for corporate change in Japan, disclosed it has taken a stake in Nikon Corp, pushing the shares up by the most in more than a decade.

Silchester reported it holds 5% of the Tokyo-based company and that it may request dividend increases, share buybacks or other changes to capital policy, according to a filing to Japan’s Finance Ministry. Nikon’s stock surged 10%, the most since 2013.

Silchester, founded by Stephen Butt and former colleagues from Morgan Stanley in 1994, has focused on taking stakes in companies outside the US that it considers undervalued. An investment of US$100 in Silchester’s international equity programme on Dec 31, 1994, would be worth US$2,031 before investment management fees as of the end of December, a gain of 1,931%.

In Japan, Silchester has been urging companies to improve their capital allocation and pay out more to shareholders. It’s taken stakes in companies such as regional lender Kyoto Financial Group Inc and construction company Obayashi Corp.

While Nikon is best known for its cameras, it has recently benefited from a surge in demand for chip-making equipment as the semiconductor industry has grown. The company’s stock had already increased 12% this year before Wednesday’s trading. 

A Nikon spokeswoman declined to comment.

Silchester disclosed earlier this week that it had taken a 5% stake in Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Shares in the Osaka-based eye treatment specialist rose after the news.
 

  - Bloomberg