The company on Tuesday announced tender offers for shares of Toyota Motor valued at 807 billion yen ($5.16 billion).
The buyback is part of a larger effort by the Tokyo Stock Exchange to improve corporate governance, which has led several large corporations to divest from cross-shareholdings.
Holding stakes in each other’s firms has long been considered as a means to strengthen commercial ties in Japan. The issue is that it shields management from shareholder scrutiny, which is considered a sign of poor governance by governance experts and international investors.
Bloomberg News reported last month that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group were planning to sell $8.5 billion worth of Toyota shares.
In a statement, Toyota said that from July 24th through August 26th, it will be offering 2,781 yen per share.
Tokio Marine Holdings and MS&AD Insurance Group (8725.T) have both announced plans to sell back shares in Toyota to the carmaker.
Earlier this month, it was revealed in a filing that two MS&AD entities, Tokio Marine and Sompo, were planning to sell 535 billion yen worth of shares in Honda Motor.
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