Toyota Motor Corp. has no plans to sweeten a deal involving a proposed ¥4.7 trillion ($31 billion) buyout of Toyota Industries Corp., Chief Executive Officer Koji Sato said, rebuffing widespread criticism of a planned privatization bid.
Sato said that while opinions differ on the valuation of Toyota Industries, there are no plans to change a discounted price offered by the Toyota group, led by Toyota’s chairman, Akio Toyoda. The group, including Toyota Motor, already owns about 38% of the company, which makes textile looms and forklifts.
“We hope to proceed in a transparent way so that all stakeholders are in agreement,” Sato told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The tender offer of ¥16,300 for each share of Toyota Industries represents an 11% discount to Toyota Industries’ closing price on the day the deal was announced in June, a major sticking point for investors who say that undervalues the manufacturer.
Toyota Industries shares were trading at ¥16,710 in Tokyo on Thursday morning, signaling investors are hoping for a better offer. Toyota Motor shares were up 0.5%.
More than two dozen investors signed a letter sent to the boards of both companies in August, according to the Asia Corporate Governance Association, which has made the document public.
The holding company for the buyout will be mostly owned by Toyota Fudosan Co., an unlisted real estate firm that counts Toyoda as chairman. He will personally invest ¥1 billion as well.
Toyota Industries is the original business that spawned the world’s largest carmaker and it owns about 8% of Toyota Motor. The deal would strengthen the founding family’s influence over Japan’s largest business group.
Separately, Sato said a semiconductor supply snag caused by the Dutch government’s seizure of Nexperia BV would have a limited impact, even as it has caused disruptions at other global automakers, including Honda Motor Co.
“Toyota has not been deeply affected at the moment,” Sato said. It is a risk, he added, “but it’s only one of the severe elements we face every day.”
Nexperia had notified Japanese automotive customers last week that it may no longer be able to guarantee supply. That came after the Dutch government seized control of the Chinese-owned semiconductor manufacturer following a move by Beijing to block Nexperia’s shipments to foreign countries.
Sato had little to say about US President Donald Trump’s comment the carmaker planned to invest as much as $10 billion in US auto plants. A Toyota spokesman said earlier Wednesday the company hasn’t announced any such plans or discussed a specific number with the White House.
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