free real money casino games Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering climate and energy . CHECK OUT: Education is Your Right! Don’t Let Social Norms Hold You Back. Learn Online with LEGIT. Enroll Now! Ogbomosho, Oyo state - Professor Funmilayo Nihinlola Osuolale of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Oyo state, has said renewable energy is presently unexploited in Nigeria. Speaking on Thursday, December 5, at the institution's 61st inaugural lecture attended by Legit.ng, Prof. Osuolale said if expertly explored, the value of renewable energy is “more than enough to meet Nigeria’s demands”. Professor Razaq Kalilu, the vice-chancellor (VC) of LAUTECH, chaired the event. Legit.ng reports that Nigeria faces many challenges in its energy sector. Among others, the energy crisis is caused by various factors such as funding problems, energy loss, inadequate budgetary provision, corruption, leadership crisis, poor maintenance and neglect of projects, lack of technical skills, infrastructural decay, and gas shortages. Amid the stumbling blocks, Prof. Osuolale offered hope during the event in Oyo state . Read also NNPC takes action to crash cooking gas prices in Nigeria She said: PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app! “Renewable energy is energy from natural resources that can be replenished at higher rate than they are consumed. An estimate of about two million, five hundred thousand gigawatts of renewable energy can be available in a year if judiciously harnessed from potential renewable energy sources in the country. “The projected amount of energy demand of our nation by 2030 is 45 gigawatts. The value of renewable energy left unexploited is more than enough to meet the energy demands of the country. Universal energy access in Nigeria should not be a mirage but an attainable reality.” Furthermore, the don explained that from time immemorial, renewable energy from biomass was the main source of energy generation. Noting that the country has an “abundance of biomass”, she pointed out that “the paradox” is the traditional use of biomass which is less efficient and oftentimes, injurious to human health. Prof. Osuolale added: Read also Prophet Arayomi shares 2025 prophecy as he speaks on 'God's revelation' “If Nigeria is to achieve its target of increasing energy generation capacity in the country, converting biomass to energy is one of the answers.” Born in December 1974, Osuolale earned her Bachelor of Technology and Master of Technology degrees in chemical engineering from LAUTECH, in 1998 and 2006 respectively. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun state . In 2015, she earned her second PhD in Chemical Engineering, with specialisation in process modelling and optimisation from Newcastle University, United Kingdom (UK). Having joined LAUTECH as a teaching assistant in 2004, she rose through the ranks to professor in 2022. She is an expert in applied thermodynamics, process modelling, and optimisation of energy systems. She has more than 60 published articles in onshore and offshore peer-review journals. PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy! Source: Legit.ng

The New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association (NYMCIA) has filed a lawsuit against the New York Cannabis Control Board (CCB) and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) over a $20 million fee for adult-use cannabis licenses. The NYMCIA is asking for the fees to be declared unconstitutional and refund any fees already paid, reported Green Market Report. The lawsuit centers on the argument that the fee is punitive and disproportionately affects the original cannabis operators (Registered Organizations or ROs) who helped launch the state's medical marijuana program in 2014. Under NY’s legalization plan, Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), a one-time fee was meant to fund social equity programs, but the NYMCIA argues the OCM and CCB set the fee at $20 million without consideration. The association claims the fee is designed to financially burden the ROs and exclude them from the adult-use market. According to them, the financial impact of the fee has been severe and has prohibited many operators from switching to the adult-use market. Read Also: Advocacy Groups Demand Gov. Hochul Appoint New Leadership For NY’s Cannabis Office Only four out of the ten original ROs have been able to make the first $5 million installment payment to transition to adult-use licenses. The rest are left with wholesale-only licenses, limiting their market opportunities. This has also led to closures and reduced hours at medical dispensaries, negatively affecting patients. The lawsuit points to statements from former OCM leaders, such as Chief of Staff Axel Bernabe, who allegedly acknowledged that the intention was to keep ROs out of the adult-use market. The NYMCIA is demanding that the court invalidate the fee and refund any payments made. If successful, the case could have broad implications for the future of cannabis regulation in New York and other states navigating similar issues. Read Next: New Yorkers In A Bind As Top-Shelf Cannabis Supply Falls Short, Could Home Cultivation Help COVER: Photo by Lukas Kloeppel via Pexels © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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North Carolina has forever been college football’s biggest mystery. It’s the flagship university in a big state that produces a good amount of talent. It’s one of the most prominent brands in all of sports thanks to an alumnus named Michael Jeffrey Jordan, who almost singlehandedly changed how athletes were marketed around the world. (He also won a few basketball games along the way.) And most of all, North Carolina wins in pretty much everything with national championships in men’s basketball, field hockey, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s tennis just in the last 10 years alone. But Carolina football is the sleeping giant that can’t stop swallowing Ambien by the handful. Decade after decade, coach after coach, it never wakes up. Now here comes Bill Belichick, arguably the best NFL coach of all time, 72 years old and desperate for a last shot that no professional franchise seems to want to give him. In his possession is a 400-page manifesto on how to win in modern college football, a staff of familiar names from his New England Patriots days and an aura that even Nick Saban couldn’t live up to. It’s wild to say it, but it’s true: Belichick is next up to try his hand at turning this perpetually tantalizing job into a winner. He’s going to be the Tar Heels football coach, according to multiple reports . After 467 regular season games coached in the NFL, 44 more in the playoffs and six Super Bowl titles, Belichick and North Carolina are about to consummate perhaps the most unlikely marriage in the history of college football. NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more. Do either one of them know what they’re getting into? For a lot of people who have long observed or coached in college football, the immediate reaction to Belichick’s arrival will be skeptical or even dismissive. In a coaching career that stretches back to 1975, he’s never worked a day on a college campus. His last couple years in New England, after the dynasty he created with Tom Brady crumbled, were not a masterpiece of coaching or roster-building. When you read accounts of how he ruled Foxboro with unrelenting, cold-blooded intimidation and fear, the notion of him connecting with undeveloped 18 year olds and their impatient parents seems impossible. For goodness sakes, North Carolina just fired 73-year old Mack Brown because the game had passed him by. And the rest of Brown’s contemporaries have either retired or fled to the NFL , where they don’t have to deal with the headaches of 365-days-per-year recruiting in the era of revenue sharing and name, image and likeness. WHO WINS IT ALL?: Our College Football Playoff bracket prediction FROM NO. 1 TO NO. 12: Ranking the national championship contenders It’s fair to wonder how this can possibly work. On the other hand, what do the Tar Heels really have to lose? Just look at their coaching history in the 21 st century. John Bunting, a beloved alum with NFL coordinator bona fides, was a disaster. They hired a proven college winner in Butch Davis, who not only failed to push the program past mediocrity, he was fired after a raft of NCAA violations. They tried the up-and-comer with Larry Fedora, who had one pretty good year and then burned out completely. And after that, they brought Brown back for a second stint at the school that never yielded a season better than 9-5. North Carolina has tried pretty much everything. Since 1997, they have finished in the Top 25 just twice. It’s no surprise that the moment Belichick started lobbying for the job that school officials and boosters began to talk themselves into it. If nothing else, merely hiring Belichick and agreeing to his demands on resources, staffing and player compensation will inspire a level of seriousness and commitment that North Carolina has never put into its football program. So why not? The better question here is why does Belichick want anything to do with this? After decades of scouting college players for the NFL draft and building relationships with coaches, maybe Belichick thinks he can X-and-O circles around these guys. Perhaps that’s true. But as any college coach will tell you, even at a time when the top college programs structurally resemble NFL franchises more than ever, their on-field responsibilities are only a fraction of what goes into winning. Belichick may feel familiarity working in an environment where he has to decide how to allocate money on player acquisition and retention, but connecting with and teaching and motivating college players is a far more volatile and difficult job than the fully-developed adult professionals you draft into NFL locker rooms. Belichick may just be so good that he can make it work. But there are a hundred ways it can go wrong, and there’s at least some risk to his legacy if it does. Keep in mind: There were seven NFL franchises that could have hired Belichick last year and did not, including the Atlanta Falcons who got fairly far down the road with him during the interview process. There are going to be at least that many jobs open this year, and it’s hard to believe Belichick would take North Carolina if he thought he had a good chance at any of them. That isn’t just a reflection of his age but the fact that the NFL collectively determined that he had lost his touch both on the coaching and player evaluation side after the breakup with Brady. And, perhaps, because teams were skeptical that Belichick just wanted to coach football and not have control of the entire organization the way he did in New England. The fact Belichick entertained college jobs supports that theory. At North Carolina, he will be the most powerful person on campus. He’ll rarely be told no. Of all the schools willing to make that deal, it’s surprising that North Carolina – a famously staid athletic department that treasures its reputation for coloring inside the lines – is willing to turn the whole place over to a guy who has never spent even a minute coaching in college. Nobody can ever take Belichick’s accomplishments away from him. Six Super Bowls is six Super Bowls. But if he flames out at North Carolina, it will be an unceremonious and uncomfortable end to a career that has had many opportunities to finish on a graceful, winning note. But even as an old man whose best coaching years are almost certainly behind him, Belichick is chasing one last high in Chapel Hill. If he can wake North Carolina from its decades-long slumber, it may solidify his reputation as the sport’s greatest-ever football coach – regardless of level – even without the NFL all-time wins record that he once hoped would be his. Nobody could have seen this coming even a few weeks ago, but now it’s real. It may work, or it may blow up spectacularly. But it’s going to be fascinating for however long it lasts.

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Emerging tight end Noah Gray gives Mahomes and the Chiefs another option in passing gameFDTX: Disruptive Tech With Global ExposureNo one wants to see any player take a vicious hit like the one that knocked Trevor Lawrence out of the game. It’s easy to agree on that point. Eliminating violent shots is the hard part. The NFL has instituted several rules to protect quarterbacks but football is a physical sport and players have to react instantly and make split-second decisions going at high speeds so injuries keep occurring. Lawrence was carted off the field in the first half of Jacksonville’s 23-20 loss to Houston on Sunday after Azeez Al-Shaair leveled the defenseless quarterback with a forearm to the facemask. The late hit put Lawrence in the fencing position — both fists clenched — and he stayed on the ground for several minutes, while a brawl ensued. Lawrence didn’t require hospitalization for his concussion but it’s unknown when he’ll return. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out/been praying for me,” Lawrence wrote on X. “I’m home and feeling better. Means a lot, thank you all.” Al-Shaair was ejected from the game and faces a fine and potential suspension after his latest unsportsmanlike penalty. The Texans' linebacker was flagged and later fined $11,255 for a late hit out of bounds on Titans running back Tony Pollard last week. He was fined earlier this year after he punched Bears running back Roschon Johnson on the sideline in Week 2. That occurred during a scuffle that started after his hard shot on quarterback Caleb Williams near the sideline that wasn’t flagged. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence slides in front of Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair during the first half of a game on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla. Lawrence was injured on the play. Al-Shaair once got away with grabbing Tom Brady by the throat on a pass rush in a game between the 49ers and Buccaneers. Outraged Jaguars players called Al-Shaair’s hit “dirty” and Texans coach DeMeco Ryans made it known he didn’t condone it. “It’s not what we’re coaching,” Ryans said. “Want to be smart in everything we do and not hurt the team, get a penalty there. Have to be smarter when the quarterback is going down. Unfortunate play. Not representative of who Azeez is. He’s a smart player, really great leader for us. We felt his presence not being there. His loss really affected us on the defensive side. Just not what we’re coaching. Didn’t want to see the melee and all the aftermath. That’s not what we’re about. Not representative of us. I’ll talk to Azeez, address him personally, and we’ll move forward from it.” Fox Sports color analyst Daryl Johnston, a former fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, didn’t hold back his criticism, calling it a “cheap shot.” “It’s everything you’re not supposed to do,” Johnston said. “Everything. You’ll see this in slow motion and Azeez Al-Shaair does everything you’re trying to prevent in this situation. It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful. There’s an honor that you give to your opponent on the football field and you respect him. And there’s opportunities to be physical and give big hits and play this game in that manner. And there’s other times when there’s a respect that you grant to your opponent.” Some former NFL quarterbacks blasted Al-Shaair on social media. “There is no place in the game of football for dirty hits like this one,” Robert Griffin III wrote on X. Chase Daniel called it “one of the dirtiest hits” he’s ever seen on a quarterback. Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram, right, jumps on Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after his late hit on quarterback Trevor Lawrence, bottom, during the first half of a game on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla. Even defensive players struggled to defend Al-Shaair. “That was uncalled for,” Hall of Fame defensive lineman Michael Strahan said on Fox’s studio show while fellow Hall of Famer Howie Long agreed. But the play also sparked debate about the quarterback slide. Lawrence slid feet first, which signals that he’s giving himself up on the play. The NFL rulebook states: “A defender must pull up when a runner begins a feet-first slide.” But defensive players aren’t automatically penalized if they make contact with a sliding quarterback if they already committed and the contact is unavoidable. The rules state it’s a foul when “the defender makes forcible contact into the head or neck area of the runner with the helmet, shoulder, or forearm, or commits some other act that is unnecessary roughness.” Al-Shaair did that so he was penalized and will face other repercussions. Still, given the hard-hitting nature of the sport, it won’t be the last time this happens. When Caleb Williams took the field for the Chicago Bears' first regular season game against the Tennessee Titans, the anticipation for the rookie's debut game—possibly the most ever—was on full display. Despite a tough debut for the quarterback, the Bears secured a 24-17 win, a notable feat for the rookie. The victory made Williams the first #1 overall pick with a Week 1 win in over 20 years. Going forward this season, Williams is expected to eclipse C.J. Stroud's record-breaking 2023 rookie campaign with the Houston Texans. However, Stroud's success is an anomaly. Drafting a successful quarterback, especially one who is effective right away, is difficult. When teams have a high first-round draft pick, and they're coming off an unsuccessful few seasons, it's assumed that they will use their . That player will assume the title of "the face of the franchise" and will get the central attention, win or lose. To see which quarterbacks have faced that challenge and triumphed, compiled a ranking of the 10 best rookie quarterbacks since 1960 using data from . Rookies were defined as players who are in their first season of professional football and have not been on the roster of another professional team. Quarterbacks were ranked according to adjusted net yards per pass attempt, which quantifies efficient passing skill. Ties were broken using passer rating. Only rookie quarterbacks with at least 10 games played and 200 total passing attempts were considered. Since 1967, 130 quarterbacks have been drafted in the first round. Of those drafted, only 61 have won a playoff game as a starter, according to The Athletic, which used data from . The biggest reason this success rate is not guaranteed is because there are differences between college and pro offensive systems. In the collegiate game, the ball is snapped at different points on the field, passing windows are wider, and defenders and linemen are not as quick, making the adjustment to the pro level more difficult. NFL scouts and general managers are gambling on what skills can be transferable and how long those adjustments might take, which is why some teams prefer redshirt quarterbacks to ease the transition. However, just because a team may not want to use their first-round pick on a quarterback, doesn't mean they can't find a diamond in the rough later in the draft. Think about Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, and Dak Prescott, all of which were not first-round picks, but have gone on to make a name for themselves in the NFL. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 6.44 - Passer rating: 91.2 - Season stats: 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns, 6 interceptions Coming out of college, Gardner Minshew was not a highly sought-after quarterback for NFL teams. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 draft—a draft that was headlined by Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, and Daniel Jones. Nonetheless, Minshew's rookie season with the Jacksonville Jaguars was filled with many accomplishments. He won Rookie of the Week seven times despite not winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Minshew also had the highest passer rating of any rookie quarterback that started in 2019. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 6.77 - Passer rating: 93.7 - Season stats: 3,725 yards, 27 touchdowns, 14 interceptions Pressure was high for Baker Mayfield as the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. When he joined the Cleveland Browns, there was an expectation that once the team figured out the quarterback position, it could be playoff-ready. After trading for Jarvis Landry, a young wide receiver from the Miami Dolphins, in the offseason, the Browns were on their way. Mayfield's rookie season was filled with many firsts, and the Landry-Mayfield connection filled the stat sheet. Mayfield set the record for most passing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback in 2019 with 27 surpassing prior marks from Payton Manning and Russell Wilson. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 6.84 - Passer rating: 98.3 - Season stats: 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns, 10 interceptions Justin Herbert was the third quarterback selected in the 2020 NFL draft behind Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa. As the No. 6 overall pick, expectations were high, but there was also an assumption that it would be a few years before Herbert's development would take shape. Then, Chargers starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was accidentally punctured in the lung by a team doctor before the second game of the season, and it wasn't clear what Taylor's status would be moving forward. When Herbert was given the nod to start minutes before the game, fans didn't know what to expect. Herbert shocked viewers when he threw for over 300 yards and only one interception in that game. He continued his strong rookie showing throughout the season and went on to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 6.93 - Passer rating: 98.1 - Season stats: 2,621 yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions Ben Roethlisberger was the third quarterback selected in his draft class behind the likes of Eli Manning and Philip Rivers—though fans wouldn't have been able to tell. From the moment Roethlisberger was called up by the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in his first game—Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens—it was clear he had a special arm, gaining the nickname "Golden Arm." While the next several games were bumpy for Steelers fans, it was clear that Roethlisberger was the future of the franchise. The Steelers had a solid running game and its receiving core, led by Hines Ward, was . Once Roethlisberger gained his footing a few games in, he was unstoppable. He led Pittsburgh to its best record ever: 15-1. He also started the season on an eight-game winning streak, becoming the first rookie to do so. Additionally, Roethlisberger became the first quarterback to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.01 - Passer rating: 87.7 - Season stats: 3,440 yards, 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions As the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft, there were high expectations on Matt Ryan's shoulders heading to the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were coming off back-to-back losing seasons and off-the-field with its starting quarterback Michael Vick overshadowing the team's play. Ryan was expected to pick up the pieces. He did that immediately, leading the Falcons to an 11-5 record in his rookie season and becoming the clear favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year halfway through the season, which he went on to win. The tag team of Ryan and running back Michael Turner was in the sport that season. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.01 - Passer rating: 100 - Season stats: 3,118 yards, 26 touchdowns, 10 interceptions Russell Wilson was drafted in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. Considering Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck headlined the NFL Draft that year, it was not believed that Wilson would be a starter come Week 1, but that quickly changed. Going into the 2012 NFL Draft, Tarvaris Jackson was the Seattle Seahawks' starting quarterback, and the team signed NFL veteran quarterback Matt Flynn as an insurance policy on the . It was assumed in the short term that either Jackson or Flynn would lead the franchise. Once training camp arrived, however, the Seahawks' quarterback position was uncertain. Jackson was traded to the Buffalo Bills, and Flynn was underwhelming at camp, forcing Head Coach Pete Carroll to take a gamble on his rookie quarterback, Wilson, in Week 1. Carroll, nor Wilson, ever looked back. Wilson was one of the best passing quarterbacks that season. He led the Seahawks to an 11-5 record and went on to win NFL Rookie of the Year. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.39 - Passer rating: 96 - Season stats: 2,210 yards, 20 touchdowns, 6 interceptions When Dan Marino was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1983, the NFL looked very different. Running the ball was the name of the game. The quarterback would either run the football himself at the line of scrimmage or hand it off to the running back, and the offensive linemen would claw and push the pile forward as the runner powered his legs. It was not a pretty sight. However, Marino took a different approach, throwing the ball with a unique quick release for that era. He led the Dolphins to a 9-1 record after replacing David Woodley midway through his rookie season, ending with a 12-4 record. He went on to win Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to start a Pro Bowl. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.47 - Passer rating: 100.8 - Season stats: 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, 5 interceptions When C.J. Stroud was drafted No. 2 by the Houston Texans last year, there were a lot of questions, not about his ability, but about the organization that he would be playing for. The Texans were coming off of a 3-13-1 season in 2022, finishing with the worst record in the league, and a lot of volatility in its front office. The team fired its head coach and a top executive before the draft. Weeks later, the team hired former Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans as its next head coach. While Ryans is a defensive-minded coach, Stroud was seen as a key ingredient to the team's success since Ryans hired his coaching staff around the quarterback. Stroud led the NFL in yards and TD-to-interception ratio during his rookie season, which is an efficiency statistic considering he didn't get his first interception until his sixth regular-season game against the New Orleans Saints. While Stroud was a part of the league MVP conversation for most of the season, he didn't ultimately win the title. However, he was named 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and his rookie season is seen as one of the best in NFL history. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.47 - Passer rating: 102.4 - Season stats: 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, 5 interceptions Leading into the 2012 draft, it wasn't a matter of whether Washington would pick a quarterback, it was a matter of who. After several seasons of mediocre quarterback play and losing seasons from the likes of Jason Campbell, Donovan McNabb, and Rex Grossman, it was time for a new face to lead the offense. At No. 2, Washington selected Robert Griffin III making him the second quarterback selected in the 2012 NFL draft behind Andrew Luck. Griffin started his rookie year campaign with one of the best performances football fans have ever seen. He completed 19 of his 26 pass attempts for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns, beating the New Orleans Saints. That game earned him the highest passer rating by a rookie ever, 158.3. He now shares that record with Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota. Griffin III went on to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.86 - Passer rating: 104.9 - Season stats: 3,667 yards, 23 touchdowns, 4 interceptions Dak Prescott is statistically the best rookie quarterback ever, racking up the best passer rating as a rookie. After losing his first game, he led the Cowboys on an 11-game winning streak. That season, he led the team to its fourth-best season ever with a 13-3 record. Prescott was the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and became the first NFL quarterback to be drafted in the fourth round or later to start all 16 regular season games. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Sen. Joe Manchin calls on Biden to pardon Trump too after prez’s shocking Hunter move: ‘Clean that slate up’TOKYO : A rise in shareholder activism in Japan is poised to fuel a new wave of management buyouts by founding families, after the battle for 7-Eleven's parent company prompted a $58 billion takeover offer from the Ito dynasty that built the retail giant. Seven & i Holdings Vice President Junro Ito swooped in last month with an offer to take private the company founded by his late father in what would be the largest ever management buyout (MBO). Ito's "white knight" bid appears designed to keep Seven & i away from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard, which announced a takeover proposal in August. The Circle K owner raised its bid for Seven & i by about 22 per cent to $47 billion in October after its initial offer was rejected. The scramble for Seven & i gives a taste of how deals are likely to develop in the years to come, industry experts say, as changes in Japan Inc's corporate governance standards make delisting an increasingly compelling option. A few years ago, companies could ignore unsolicited offers because they were protected by cross shareholdings - the practice of holding stakes in business partners to cement relationships. But those holdings are now being sold off under a government push for better governance. Companies have also been told they should give serious consideration to credible buyout offers. "Managers can no longer ignore shareholders as they could in the past. Cross shareholdings are being unwound all the time," said Travis Lundy of Quiddity Advisors who publishes on the Smartkarma platform. "MBOs are going to be more common," Lundy said, adding the government's guidelines on giving consideration to buyout offers were "a game changer". ALL IN THE FAMILY Last year, Japanese deals where management took stakes, including MBOs, totalled $7.1 billion, the most in at least 36 years, LSEG data showed. The value has fallen from that peak this year, but remains at $1.7 billion. Among recent deals, educational publisher and nursing home operator Benesse Holdings was taken private in an MBO by the founding Fukutake family and Swedish private equity firm EQT. Drugmaker Taisho Pharmaceutical was bought out by a member of its founding Uehara family. MBOs are becoming an attractive option because the governance overhaul has created bigger burdens for listed firms, while being a public company no longer confers the status it once did, said Ulrike Schaede, a professor of Japanese business at the University of California San Diego. Schaede gives the example of Germany, where MBOs have become a "new defence" against shareholder activism, adding that Japan could start to see a similar trend, especially given private equity's appetite for deals in the country. Japan is hardly the only place where founding families hold stakes and sway after the founder dies - and Seven & i not the only global retailer in that position. The family of Walmart founder Sam Walton holds 45.5 per cent of the U.S. retailer, while the largest shareholders of Sweden's H&M are Stefan Persson, son of the founder, and his family. SMALL STAKES But Japan stands out because families are able to wield considerable power despite holding small stakes. Ito-Kogyo, the company tied to Junro Ito that is bidding for Seven & i, holds only about 8.2 per cent of the retailer. Historically, family control of businesses in Japan has been "more persistent than the very low equity ownership by founding families would indicate", researchers from the University of Copenhagen, the University of Alberta School of Business and elsewhere wrote in a 2021 Journal of Financial Economics paper. Some 10 per cent to 30 per cent of listed Japanese companies from the 1960s to 2010 were managed by founding family heirs with "little ownership to report", Morten Bennedsen, Vikas Mehrotra and their co-authors found. They pointed to examples such as the Toyoda family at Toyota Motor Corp, the Suzukis of Suzuki Motor Corp and the Kashios at Casio Computer. Such families were able to retain control via what the researchers called "soft family assets", including their name and reputation. "We certainly expect that the trend is continuing, there is no sign it is changing," Bennedsen told Reuters. One Seven & i investor recalled attending a meeting with company executives including Junro Ito, who sat silent throughout. The extent to which the Ito family wielded influence and power within the company was "something of a mystery", said the investor, who asked not to be named due to company policy. A Seven & i spokesperson declined to comment. At many companies the founder's legacy still looms large. In recent years Seven & i resisted calls from foreign investors to hive off its Ito-Yokado supermarkets' business out of respect for founder Masatoshi Ito's vision, according to veteran Japan retail analyst Michael Causton. "The Ito legacy, as in many Japanese companies with a charismatic founder, is an unwritten red line in the company known to all executives," Causton said, adding that amounted to preserving Seven & i as a conglomerate spanning supermarkets, general merchandise and convenience stores. It remains to be seen whether the Ito family will manage to raise the funds needed for the deal - although it appears that domestic banks are lining up with them. What is clear is that more such deals are likely to happen, something investors welcome. "If the founding families in Japan really want to control and influence their companies, then they shouldn't be listed and instead taken private," the Seven & i investor said.

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