Hitachi, Ltd. told Hitachi Construction Machinery on August 18 that it plans to sell its entire remaining stake in the equipment maker: 21,462,310 shares, equal to 10.1% of voting rights as of June 30. Once the sale settles on August 19, Hitachi's holding drops to zero shares and 0.0% of the vote, ending its status as a major shareholder.
The mechanics are brisk. SMBC Nikko Securities will aggregate the purchase orders for the block and, in doing so, will itself briefly become Hitachi Construction Machinery's major shareholder before immediately reselling the entire stake to domestic and overseas institutional investors, all on the same day. Hitachi Construction Machinery frames the move as the product of ongoing talks with its former parent aimed at deepening independent management and widening the shareholder base to include more individual investors, and says the ownership change will not affect its financial results.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Hitachi's stake being sold | 21,462,310 shares (10.1% of voting rights) |
| Hitachi's stake after sale | 0 shares (0.0%) |
| Intermediary broker | SMBC Nikko Securities |
| Buyback share cap | 6,420,000 shares (about 30% of the sold stake) |
| Buyback amount cap | ¥34bn |
| Buyback window | August 19, 2026 to November 30, 2026 |
Hitachi Construction Machinery is not simply letting the block hit the market unchallenged. Its board, acting the same day by written resolution under the Companies Act, approved a share buyback of up to 6,420,000 shares, roughly 30% of what Hitachi is selling, capped at ¥34bn. The purchase window runs from August 19 through November 30, 2026, using a discretionary trading arrangement for open-market buying on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company's stated aim is to soften the short-term supply-and-demand jolt from the sale while also strengthening shareholder returns and improving return on equity and capital efficiency.
The two filings read as a coordinated exit and cushion: one document ends a shareholding relationship, the other absorbs part of the resulting supply. Hitachi says it will keep working with Hitachi Construction Machinery on digital technology, autonomous operation technology, electrification, and parts supply even after selling out entirely, though the disclosure gives no further detail on how that commercial relationship will be structured going forward. The buyback ceiling is also not a promise: the company notes that investment opportunities and market conditions could mean it buys back less than the full 6.42 million shares, or none of it.