Toyota Group Raises Buyout Offer 15% After Elliott Pressure

The Toyota group raised its buyout offer for a key unit by 15% that would bump up the acquisition target’s value to ¥6.1 trillion ($39 billion), caving in to demands from Elliott Investment Management to sweeten what the activist shareholder had described as a lowball proposal.

The Japanese giant increased its bid to ¥18,800 for each share of Toyota Industries Corp. it doesn’t own, Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday. That compares with the initial offer of ¥16,300 a share in June last year. The tender offer will begin Thursday and run through Feb. 12, according to the statement.