A private equity firm – MHR Fund Management – has purchased nearly 5% of Titan International stock and has options to boost its holdings to 10.9%, according to filings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show.

MHR bought 2.6 million shares of the tiremaker’s stock Jan. 9 for roughly $39.5 million. In addition, the company paid almost $28.2 million for options giving it the right to buy 3.24 million more shares for $26.3 million. 

MHR has more than $5 billion in assets as a private equity firm that actively buys and works with companies that are seen as undervalued.

MHR’s website states that the company "takes a highly differentiated, control-focused, private equity approach to investing in distressed and undervalued middle-market companies." 

 Investor groups, such as MHR, buy enough shares to have a say in how companies operate, according to stock analysts.