Toshiba Machine Co.'s share price soared Monday after the company said Japan's best-known activist investor, Yoshiaki Murakami, plans a tender offer.
The stock jumped as much as 19 percent, to ¥3,700, in Tokyo for the biggest intraday gain since October 2008. Toshiba Machine said late Friday that it first learned of the possible bid from Murakami vehicle Office Support on Jan. 10, and expects the tender offer to begin Tuesday.
The announcement came just hours after Toshiba Machine confirmed it had agreed to sell its stake in NuFlare Technology Inc. to Toshiba Corp., even though Hoya Corp. had offered to pay a higher price for the shares. It's not clear whether Murakami is seeking to disrupt or derail the NuFlare deal, which was seen as a snub to minority shareholders. Toshiba was already NuFlare's largest stakeholder with 52.4 percent when it started the buyout. Toshiba Machine said it will book about ¥10 billion ($91 million) from the sale.