Tokyo Gas shares surge after activist investor Elliott takes stake

Investing.com– Shares of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (TYO:9531) rose sharply on Wednesday after activist investor Elliott Management took a stake in the firm in a likely bid to improve shareholder value.

Tokyo Gas’ shares jumped over 12% to 4,284.0 yen by 20:48 ET (01:48 GMT). 

Elliott revealed a 5.03% stake in the gas provider in a filing on Tuesday, stating that it planned to make some proposals based on discussions with the firm. The 5% stake makes Elliott among the largest shareholders in the Japanese utility firm.

The Financial Times reported that Elliott plans to pressure Tokyo Gas management to sell its non-core assets, especially the firm’s massive property portfolio. The activist fund reportedly claimed the unrealized value of Tokyo Gas’ real estate holdings was worth 1.5 trillion yen ($9.7 billion).

Elliott has invested in other Japanese companies over the past year, including SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) and Toshiba. The activist recently called for U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) to spin off its non-core businesses, and took a $5 billion stake in the firm.