Elliott Management’s buyout of a significant stake in Sumitomo is the latest in a series of Japanese deals for the company and reflects the growing influence of activist investors in the 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. Elliott, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, also recently invested in developer Mitsui Fudosan, after previously targeting Toshiba, SoftBank Group and Dai Nippon Printing.
Activist investor campaigns are becoming increasingly common as the government and institutions such as the Tokyo Stock Exchange encourage companies to better manage their balance sheets and boost shareholder returns.
