US-based hedge fund Farallon Capital Management is intensifying pressure on Japanese insurer T&D Holdings, urging the firm to divest cross-shareholdings and address what it calls a “concealment” of these holdings, according to a report by Nikkei Asia.
The firm is also pushing for greater operational synergies across T&D’s insurance subsidiaries.
Farallon, which has been a shareholder in T&D since 2008 and now holds 4.6% of the voting rights, has publicly renewed its calls for reform following a series of engagements with T&D management since April 2023.
The activist investor argues that T&D’s structure — comprising insurance subsidiaries operating across different sectors — limits the group’s ability to realise synergies, ultimately hampering shareholder value.
Farallon’s campaign is the latest sign of increasing foreign investor activism in Japan, where corporate governance reform remains a central theme. The fund’s criticisms echo broader concerns among global shareholders regarding the sluggish pace of cross-shareholding unwinding and capital efficiency improvements across Japanese conglomerates.
T&D has yet to issue a public response to Farallon’s latest demands.
