Elliott Reaffirms Resistance to Toyota Industries' Tender Offer as Shares Reach New High

Toyota Industries Corp (6201.T) - TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - On Friday, Elliott Investment Management announced its decision not to participate in the extended tender offer for Toyota Industries shares under the current terms and urged fellow shareholders to do the same. Elliott also called on other investors to retract any shares they have already tendered. As the most prominent critic of the consortium led by Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) seeking to take the forklift manufacturer private, Elliott contends that the offered price undervalues the company and jeopardizes the interests of minority shareholders. Initially, the Toyota consortium proposed a price of 16,300 yen per share, later increasing it to 18,800 yen in January when the tender offer was initiated, which was set to conclude on Thursday. Just two and a half hours prior to the deadline, 33.1% of the shares had been tendered. For the offer to succeed, at least 42.01% of minority shareholders, excluding Toyota Motor's 24.66% stake, must accept the proposal. Following the announcement of the tender offer extension on Thursday, Toyota Industries shares surged, trading at around a record high of 20,355 yen per share by Friday morning. Reporting by Mariko Katsumura and Anton Bridge; Editing by Chris Reese and Thomas Derpinghaus.