A Toyota Motor tender offer for Toyota Industries has been extended until March 2 after it appeared to fall short of the necessary shareholder votes in the face of staunch opposition from activist shareholder Elliott Investment. News of the extension boosted expectations that the offer price will be lifted again, and sent shares in the forklift manufacturer to a record high.
The sweetened tender offer was due to close on Thursday but as of 1.00 p.m. (0400 GMT) – two and half hours before the deadline, over 99 million shares in Toyota Industries had been tendered, equivalent to 33.1% ownership, a filing showed. For the bid to be successful, 42.01% of shareholders classified as minority owners need to accept the offer. That excludes Toyota Motor’s 24.66% stake. “I suspect that they will need to increase the offer price again,” said Christopher Richter, auto analyst at CLSA. A successful buyout would see the automaker’s chairman, Akio Toyoda, strengthen his grip on a key affiliate and by extension the broader Toyota group.
