Toyota Group Raises Buyout Offer 15% After Elliott Pressure

Group 1 - Toyota group raised its buyout offer for Toyota Industries Corp. by 15%, increasing the acquisition target's value to ¥6.1 trillion ($39 billion) [1] - The new bid is ¥18,800 per share, up from the initial offer of ¥16,300 per share made in June last year [2] - The tender offer will commence on Thursday and run through February 12 [2] Group 2 - The raised offer is 4.3% higher than the stock's latest close, marking a significant victory for shareholder activism in Japan [3] - The original offer was criticized as a lowball proposal, prompting pressure from investors like Elliott Investment Management [4] - The takeover bid was initially scheduled for December but was postponed due to delays in the approval process by antitrust regulators [7] Group 3 - The proposal aims to take Toyota Industries private through a special-purpose company primarily controlled by Toyota Fudosan Co., an unlisted real estate firm chaired by Akio Toyoda [5] - Discussions to raise the offer had been ongoing since December, reflecting scrutiny from investors regarding the treatment of minority shareholders [6]