---
title: "Palliser Takes Stake in Ajinomoto, Urges 30%+ ABF Price Increase"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/281231829.md"
description: "Palliser Capital has acquired a stake in Ajinomoto Co. (AJINF), becoming one of its top 25 shareholders. The activist fund is advocating for a price increase of over 30% for Ajinomoto Build-Up Film (ABF), a key material in semiconductor packaging, and is pushing for the separation of the ABF business for better visibility. Despite Ajinomoto's significant market share, its stock has underperformed compared to peers, prompting Palliser's campaign to enhance the company's positioning in the AI infrastructure market."
datetime: "2026-03-31T19:02:25.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281231829.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281231829.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/281231829.md)
---

# Palliser Takes Stake in Ajinomoto, Urges 30%+ ABF Price Increase

Palliser Capital is stepping deeper into Japan's AI supply chain, building a stake in Ajinomoto Co. (AJINF) as it looks for what could be underappreciated beneficiaries of the ongoing infrastructure buildout. The UK-based activist has accumulated shares over the past six months and is now among the company's top 25 shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter, while engaging management on strategic changes. Shares initially moved lower following the report but later trimmed losses, trading around 1.8% down in Tokyo mid-morning, suggesting the market is still digesting the implications.

The focus of the campaign is Ajinomoto Build-Up Film, a key insulating material used in advanced semiconductor packaging, where Palliser is pushing for price increases of more than 30%. The fund appears to believe Ajinomoto could be under-monetizing its position in a segment directly tied to AI demand, particularly as ABF plays a role in high-performance computing infrastructure. Palliser is also urging the company to separate the ABF business into a standalone segment, which could potentially make its contribution more visible, especially since it currently sits within the healthcare and others division that accounted for about 29% of total business profit in the last fiscal year.

The broader setup highlights a gap between Ajinomoto and other chip-material players, with the company's shares rising about 3% over the past six months, trailing the roughly 12% gain in the Topix and significantly underperforming peers like Ibiden Co. and Resonac Holdings, which have climbed more than 60%. That divergence may reinforce the activist's view that Ajinomoto's positioning is not fully reflected, despite the company holding more than 90% global share in certain insulating materials used in PCs and data center servers. With ABF sales already benefiting from AI-driven demand and new production capacity launched in Gunma, the next phase could depend on whether pricing adjustments and clearer disclosure are enough to reposition the company as a more direct AI infrastructure play.

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