Elliott, a radical investor, openly confronts Toyota Group: Opposing Toyota Industries' privatization and vigorously promoting an independent operational development plan.

US activist investor Elliott Investment Management released a public letter on Monday opposing the privatization proposal of Toyota Industries, urging other minority shareholders to reject the offer and pointing out that the company could realize higher value by remaining independent. In the public letter, the fund stated that the intrinsic net asset value per share of Toyota Industries is as high as 26,000 Japanese yen, far exceeding the revised 18,800 Japanese yen acquisition offer from Toyota Group. Although this increased bid raised the valuation of Toyota Industries to 6.1 trillion Japanese yen (approximately $39 billion), the controversy over the company's valuation remains unresolved in the market. As Elliott intensifies its pressure and demands a better proposal from Japan's largest corporate group, the focus of this standoff is also shifting to a core issue: whether a founding family-led privatization deal can provide fair value to minority shareholders. The ultimate outcome of this event may affect the future resistance intensity of investors towards similar transactions. On Monday, Toyota Industries' stock price closed at 19,510 Japanese yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, indicating that investors are still waiting for a higher acquisition offer. Elliott presented a plan for independent operation in the public letter, suggesting that Toyota Industries could increase its estimated value per share to over 40,000 Japanese yen by 2028 through measures such as divesting cross-shareholdings, consolidating business segments, optimizing capital allocation, and advancing governance reforms. Senior automotive industry analyst Tatsuo Yoshida commented, "From a theoretical perspective, these ideas are feasible, but there are still significant doubts about whether Toyota Industries is willing to implement them in practice." In November last year, Elliott disclosed that it owned a 5% stake in Toyota Industries. After Toyota raised its bid on the eve of the tender offer period, the fund reiterated its position from the previous week - it would not sell its shares. Elliott emphasized in the letter, "Through optimizing operational efficiency and capital allocation, Toyota Industries already has a clear path for releasing independent value, and there is no need to push forward with this privatization deal." The tender offer period began on January 15 and will continue until February 12. If the acquisition plan is successfully completed, Toyota Industries will be brought under the umbrella of Toyota Real Estate. This unlisted real estate company is chaired by Akio Toyota, who is also the chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. Sponsored ADR (TM.US) and the grandson of the founder of Toyota Motor Corp. Sponsored ADR. When Toyota Group first announced the privatization tender offer in June last year, the trading valuation was around 4.7 trillion Japanese yen, representing an 11% discount to the market value of Toyota Industries at the time. Some investors are calling for increased transparency in the deal, as this acquisition not only consolidates the founding family's control over Japan's leading corporate group but also has the potential to become one of the world's largest mergers and acquisitions.