Toyota Motor chief executive officer Koji Sato. — Bloomberg
TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp has no plans to sweeten a deal involving a proposed 4.7 trillion yen or about US$31bil buyout of Toyota Industries Corp, chief executive officer Koji Sato says, rebuffing widespread criticism of a planned privatisation 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 said in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The offer of 16,300 yen for each share of Toyota Industries represents an 11% discount to its closing price on the day the deal was announced in June, a major sticking point for investors. — Bloomberg
