Activist investor Elliott Investment Management is reportedly weighing a tender offer for Toyota Industries, a move that could disrupt the Toyota group’s ongoing effort to take the company private.
Elliott is exploring a potential bid after criticizing Toyota’s proposed buyout price as too low. The Toyota group has offered to acquire Toyota Industries at 18,800 yen per share, a valuation Elliott has urged shareholders to reject. Following the report, Toyota Industries shares rose to trade above the proposed offer price, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Toyota Industries, a major forklift manufacturer within the Toyota group, has been at the center of a take-private plan first announced last year. The proposal has faced investor criticism over valuation transparency and protection of minority shareholder interests.
Elliott disclosed a significant stake in Toyota Industries in November and may have increased its holding further, according to sources cited in the report. A competing tender offer from Elliott could encourage shareholders not to accept Toyota’s current proposal.
The situation is being closely monitored by global investors, as it aligns with Japan’s broader efforts to improve corporate governance and reduce cross-shareholding structures.
Toyota Industries and related group companies have declined to comment, while Elliott and Toyota Motor have not yet issued public statements on the report.