“The company to be created through the merger will be at the peak of the system of management control over the entire Samsung Group, even if we cannot call it a holding company for the conglomerate,” said Cho Yoon-ho, an analyst at Dongbu Securities in Seoul.

Mr. Cho and others said Elliott was unlikely to be able to block the deal. But he said that complicating the restructuring process could lead to “capital gains” if the share price rose further, increasing the pressure on Cheil.

Samsung C&T on Thursday rejected Elliott’s claim that the terms of the merger plan were poor. In a news release, the company said that it had pushed for the deal “to strengthen the future value of the company and eventually the values of stock owners.”

The statement added that Samsung C&T would “communicate with various shareholders and try to boost the company’s value.” Representatives of Cheil could not be reached for comment.

Last year, Elliot built up a small stake in the Bank of East Asia, one of Hong Kong’s biggest local banks, which is controlled by the family of David Li. But its stake was diluted after the bank sold new shares to the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group of Japan. Elliott sought to challenge the decision, which some analysts described as a defensive move by the Li family. The matter is working its way through the courts in Hong Kong.

Other activist hedge funds have also met resistance in Asia. Two years ago, another Wall Street firm, the billionaire Daniel S. Loeb’s Third Point, built a substantial stake in Sony and began pressing the company for a board seat. It also sought to have the company spin off part of its entertainment arm, which includes a Hollywood film studio and a music label.

Mr. Loeb was largely rebuffed and eventually sold his Sony stake. More recently, he has found his new investment in Fanuc, the Japanese robot maker, better received. After a recent meeting with the company’s management, Fanuc agreed to double its dividend.