TOKYO—Bridgestone Corp. is no longer the largest shareholder in JSR Corp. following the sale of part of its shares over the recent months.
Bridgestone's stake in the Japanese materials supplier stood at 220,335 units on May 13, down from 223,661 units at the end of March. As of May 13, Bridgestone's held 9.9 percent of total voting rights, down from the previous 10.2 percent.
"As a result, Bridgestone Corp. ceased to be JSR's largest major shareholder," JSR said in a May 13 statement, noting that the development would not impact any of its operations or its relationship with Bridgestone.
Based in Tokyo, JSR manufactures petrochemical products, including elastomers and plastics, as well as fine chemicals.
The company's elastomers business produces synthetic rubber, thermoplastic elastomers, performance chemicals and butadiene monomers.
JSR's elastomer's business registered sales of $1.8 billion in the financial year ended March 21, up 3 percent from the year before.
The segment's operating profit, however, fell 50 percent year-on-year to $67.4 million, due in part to higher selling expenses and increased costs at the company's Hungary plant.