Nikko Cordial’s largest shareholder on Wednesday rejected Citigroup’s $11bn takeover offer for the Japanese broker, saying it was too low.

“In our view, the long-term value of Nikko Cordial is in excess of Y2,000bn [$17.2bn],” said David Herro, chief investment officer in international equities at Harris Associates, a Chicago-based investment fund, which owns about 7.5 per cent of Nikko. “Therefore, though we value Citi’s interest, we could not accept their tender price of roughly Y1,350bn,” he told the Financial Times.