Toshiba Machine Co. is bracing for "a very tough battle" with controversial activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami on March 27, when shareholders will meet to decide the outcome of one of the nation's highest-profile takeover battles in recent years.
President Shigetomo Sakamoto said in an interview that it won't be easy to sway a majority of shareholders against the activist. He needs over 50 percent of them to vote in favor of the company's so-called poison pill, a plan to issue new stock to existing investors to fend off the takeover bid. Falling short of that would effectively hand over the reins of the company to Murakami, who launched a tender offer to boost his stake to about 44 percent, Sakamoto said.
Over the past month, Toshiba Machine has waged a public campaign to get investors on its side. The company promised to reduce its workforce by as many as 300 people and raise its operating profit margin to 8 percent by fiscal 2023, more than double its average over the past five years.