Buyers of distressed assets are more often a focus of hostility than gratitude, but Lone Star may find itself drawing warm applause from thousands of investors surprised by the US fund's apparent generosity.

Lone Star yesterday acquired New City Residence Investment, Japan's first real estate investment trust to go bust. The plan it offered for rehabilitating NCRI, Japan's second-largest residential Reit before it filed for court protection, was surprisingly generous to existing shareholders, who can cash out at Y35,000 ($350m) compared with Y14,000 when NCRI was delisted.