Elliott’s Sumitomo Stake Reflects Growing Activism in Japan
- US firm has built a large stake in the Japanese trading house
- Tone of activist investing in Japan has changed: BDA’s Acton
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Elliott Management Corp. buying up a sizable stake in Sumitomo Corp. is the latest in a string of Japanese deals for the firm, and reflects the growing influence of activist investors in the East Asian country.
Elliott has built a “large” holding in Sumitomo after investing “several tens of billions of yen” in the trading house backed by Warren Buffett, Bloomberg News reported over the weekend. Founded by billionaire Paul Singer, Elliott also recently invested in developer Mitsui Fudosan Co., after previously targeting Toshiba Corp., SoftBank Group Corp. and Dai Nippon Printing Co.