"Toyoda Chairperson Reveals True Motives Behind the Planned Private Takeover of Toyota Industries"
**Toyota Industries to Return to Roots and Go Private**
Toyota Industries Corporation, a company with a rich history dating back to 1926 when it was founded by Sakichi Toyoda, is set to embark on a new chapter. The company has announced its intention to go private, a move aimed at allowing it to focus on long-term growth and innovation, while also returning to its founding roots.
The decision to privatize Toyota Industries is driven by a desire to free the company from the pressures of delivering immediate financial results, enabling it to concentrate on creating long-term value, particularly in the "mobility of goods" sector. This aligns with evolving logistics and mobility business needs.
This move is symbolic of a return to the original spirit and mission of the company, as envisioned by the Toyoda family. Toyota Industries was the birthplace of Toyota Motor Corporation, when Sakichi's eldest son, Kiichiro Toyoda, created an automobile division within the company in 1933.
To facilitate this transition, a new holding company will be established, led by Toyota Group companies and key stakeholders, including Chairman Akio Toyoda, who has personally invested 1 billion yen. Toyota Fudosan will invest approximately 180 billion yen in the new holding company, although no new information has been provided about the share price or the total value of the takeover bid.
Once the transaction is completed, Toyota Industries will be taken private and delisted. This privatization and return to roots reflect the "Toyota Philosophy," which emphasizes innovation, monozukuri (craftsmanship), and producing happiness by expanding possibilities for people and society. It reinforces the group’s vision of inventing its future path together by embracing its founding spirit and focusing on mobility solutions that address future societal challenges.
The privatization is also part of the broader governance reforms encouraged by the Japanese government, pushing conglomerates to simplify cross-shareholding structures for better corporate governance. This streamlining is expected to strengthen the influence of the founding Toyoda family and enhance group coordination, particularly between Toyota Motor and Toyota Industries.
The four leaders have responded to concerns about the takeover bid by emphasizing a return to Toyota's roots for future growth. However, no new information has been provided about the Toyota Group becoming a holding company or the establishment of a new holding company. Toyota Motor will invest around 700 billion yen in non-voting preferred shares, but no further details have been disclosed.
As Toyota Industries prepares to embark on this new journey, it does so with a renewed commitment to its founding values, a focus on long-term innovation and growth in mobility, improved governance through streamlined group ownership, and a reinforced leadership role for the Toyoda family in shaping the group's future.
Technology will be a crucial aspect in Toyota Industries' focus on long-term growth and innovation, especially in the "mobility of goods" sector, as they embrace evolving logistics and mobility business needs. The company's decision to privatize aligns with their commitment to further develop solutions that address future societal challenges through the embrace of their founding spirit and the Toyota Philosophy, which emphasizes creating happiness by expanding possibilities for people and society, and monozukuri or craftsmanship.
