A light is seen under a signboard of Cosmo Energy Holdings' Cosmo Oil service station in Tokyo, Japan, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Cosmo Energy Holdings Co Ltd FollowTOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Cosmo Energy Holdings (5021.T) could struggle to win shareholder backing for a revised "poison pill" strategy, its chief executive said on Friday, as the company seeks to defend itself from activist investors pursuing a hostile takeover. Japan's third-biggest oil refiner is calling another shareholder vote on Dec. 14 to seek approval to discourage an activist group led by Yoshiaki Murakami from increasing its stake to 24.56% from its current 20%. In June, a previous vote on a poison pill to dilute the activists' stake if they buy more shares without following set procedures succeeded. "We want to ask shareholders whose plans can boost the shareholder value, ours or Murakami-san?"

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Persons: Yuya, Yoshiaki Murakami, Shigeru Yamada, Cosmo, Murakami, Yamada, Makiko Yamazaki, Yuka Obayashi, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Cosmo Energy Holdings, Cosmo Oil, REUTERS, Cosmo Energy Holdings Co, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan