Toyota raises offer for Toyota Industries by 15%

[TOKYO] Toyota Motor said on Wednesday (Jan 14) the tender price for group firm Toyota Industries was raised to 18,800 yen (S$152.29) per share as part of the plan to take the forklift maker private.

The Japanese automaker had previously offered 16,300 yen per share – 2,500 yen less than the newly disclosed price – in a deal announced in June.

The transaction is being closely watched by global investors as it coincides with Japan’s push to unwind cross-shareholdings and bolster corporate governance standards.

Toyota Industries, which also supplies engines to Toyota Motor, is slated to be taken private by the automaker, group real estate company Toyota Fudosan and Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda, strengthening the founding family’s grip on the group.

The tender offer will run from January 15 to February 12, major Toyota supplier Denso, which is a shareholder in Toyota Industries, said in a regulatory filing.

Global investors have been pressuring Toyota about what they said was an “opaque” valuation of the buyout and a failure to safeguard the interests of minority shareholders.

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The criticism intensified after US activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed in November it had taken a stake in the company, saying the original offer undervalued the company and lacked transparency. REUTERS