
Japan hits M&A record of $232 billion, driving Asia deals rebound
Management reforms to tackle chronic low valuations among Japanese firms are spurring a flurry of foreign and activist investor interest, while Japan's low interest rates - which support deals - mean the appetite for more deals remains strong, bankers say.
The deals involving Japanese companies more than tripled in value in the first half, while in the same period Asia M&A value reached $650 billion, more than double the amount year-on-year, LSEG data showed.
Bankers say government calls for better corporate governance, including the privatisation of listed subsidiaries, as well as outbound acquisitions by Japanese firms seeking new growth avenues will keep igniting mega deals.
Moreover, Japan has been relatively insulated from global volatility despite the broader geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, helping to underpin deals momentum, they say.
A cohort of Toyota Motor (7203.T), opens new tab group companies and telecoms giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (9432.T), opens new tab took private listed subsidiaries in deals worth $34.6 billion and $16.5 billion respectively, among the largest transactions globally.
"There are many other deals like these on the way and their number is increasing," said Kei Nitta, global head of M&A at Nomura Securities.
SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab also led a new fundraising of up to $40 billion into ChatGPT maker OpenAI in the biggest private tech funding round in history.
The long-standing trend of Japanese firms looking abroad for growth opportunities in the face of a shrinking home market has continued despite heightened uncertainty in the global economy.
Japanese financial institutions, such as insurer Dai-ichi Life (8750.T), opens new tab and Nomura Holdings (8604.T), opens new tab, announced major deals and bankers say demand remains robust across industries.
"Debates over tariffs and foreign conflicts mean that some investment decisions are taking longer than usual and some customers have become more cautious, but we consider appetite for investment itself to remain very strong," Nitta said.
Japanese firms themselves have also become more attractive acquisition targets as global firms have reconsidered their supply chains and distribution of resources over the past two years, Nitta added.
However, there are some hurdles that could slow dealmaking in Japan.
Uncertainty around the global economic outlook has made assessing companies' future prospects more difficult, leading to a disconnect in valuation expectations between buyers and sellers.
This has caused an increasing number of deals to fail, said Atsushi Tatsuguchi, head of the M&A advisory group at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
As part of the corporate reform drive, firms are under rising pressure to offload non-core business units, with private equity funds increasingly the destination for the hived off parts.
Convenience store operator Seven & I Holdings (3382.T), opens new tab – itself the target of a buyout bid from Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO), opens new tab – sold off a bundle of its superstores and other peripheral business units to Bain Capital for some $5.5 billion in March.
"Carve-outs of operating companies' non-core assets will continue to be a trend in the near term," said senior deputy head of M&A advisory at SMBC Nikko Securities, Yusuke Ishimaru.
Bankers say there is a strong pipeline of potential deals involving private equity firms.
Potential deals to be announced in the second half include an acquisition of Japanese cybersecurity firm Trend Micro (4704.T), opens new tab which has a market value of 1.32 trillion yen ($8.54 billion).
Bidders included Bain Capital and EQT, Reuters reported earlier this year.
"Private equity funds are also seen as promising buyers for taking listed companies private," Ishimaru said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South Wales Guardian
4 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Funding golf tournament was not attempt to ‘butter up' Trump, says Swinney
The Government announced on Saturday, just days before the First Minister met Mr Trump, that £180,000 of public money would be spent to bring the Nexo Championship to Scotland next month. Mr Swinney said he had 'courteous' talks with Mr Trump on Tuesday morning, ahead of the official opening of a second course in Aberdeenshire. Gifts were also exchanged ahead of the meeting, with Mr Swinney giving the US president framed historic documents showing his family connections to Scotland, and a map of the Isle of Lewis. In return Mr Trump gave the First Minister an American bald eagle figurine. The leaders discussed the situation in Gaza and tariffs on Scotch whisky, which Mr Swinney said the president appeared to be willing to move on. Speaking to the PA news agency, the First Minister said the tournament funding was not to curry favour with the president. Asked if it was an effort to 'butter up' Mr Trump, he said: 'No, I think what I was trying to do is to make sure that a tournament that was coming to Scotland could be properly promoted. 'It's coming here, we've essentially intervened to secure a tournament quite late in the day.' Mr Swinney added that the Government provides cash to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) in St Andrews. 'If the principle is good enough for the R&A, it's good enough for Trump International,' he said. Asked about his relationship with Mr Trump following his first face-to-face meetings with the leader, Mr Swinney said there had been 'very good and courteous' conversations between the two. 'I think we talked well about the issues that matter to the people of Scotland,' he said. 'He has a deep affinity with Scotland, so he's got a warmth and an empathy towards Scotland and he was interested in all the issues that I was raising about Scotland. 'So I think we had a very welcome opportunity to engage in dialogue and to build a relationship.' Asked if he believes that positive relationship will continue into the future, the First Minister said he does, adding the president ended the meeting by urging him to contact the US administration should he wish to raise any issues. 'I intend to take him up on that issue, because my job as First Minister of Scotland is to promote and protect the interests of the country and I can engage constructively with the president of the United States to do that,' Mr Swinney added. As well as a meeting early on Tuesday, the First Minister was also invited to a dinner on Monday evening at the Aberdeenshire club alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Over a meal of langoustines and beef, the First Minister had his first face-to-face meeting with the US president – having spoken over the phone after his election win last November.


Glasgow Times
4 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Funding golf tournament was not attempt to ‘butter up' Trump, says Swinney
The Government announced on Saturday, just days before the First Minister met Mr Trump, that £180,000 of public money would be spent to bring the Nexo Championship to Scotland next month. Mr Swinney said he had 'courteous' talks with Mr Trump on Tuesday morning, ahead of the official opening of a second course in Aberdeenshire. Gifts were also exchanged ahead of the meeting, with Mr Swinney giving the US president framed historic documents showing his family connections to Scotland, and a map of the Isle of Lewis. In return Mr Trump gave the First Minister an American bald eagle figurine. The leaders discussed the situation in Gaza and tariffs on Scotch whisky, which Mr Swinney said the president appeared to be willing to move on. Speaking to the PA news agency, the First Minister said the tournament funding was not to curry favour with the president. Asked if it was an effort to 'butter up' Mr Trump, he said: 'No, I think what I was trying to do is to make sure that a tournament that was coming to Scotland could be properly promoted. 'It's coming here, we've essentially intervened to secure a tournament quite late in the day.' Mr Swinney added that the Government provides cash to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) in St Andrews. 'If the principle is good enough for the R&A, it's good enough for Trump International,' he said. Asked about his relationship with Mr Trump following his first face-to-face meetings with the leader, Mr Swinney said there had been 'very good and courteous' conversations between the two. 'I think we talked well about the issues that matter to the people of Scotland,' he said. Donald Trump was joined by his sons Donald Jnr, left, and Eric for the official opening of the course at Menie, Aberdeenshire (Jane Barlow/PA) 'He has a deep affinity with Scotland, so he's got a warmth and an empathy towards Scotland and he was interested in all the issues that I was raising about Scotland. 'So I think we had a very welcome opportunity to engage in dialogue and to build a relationship.' Asked if he believes that positive relationship will continue into the future, the First Minister said he does, adding the president ended the meeting by urging him to contact the US administration should he wish to raise any issues. 'I intend to take him up on that issue, because my job as First Minister of Scotland is to promote and protect the interests of the country and I can engage constructively with the president of the United States to do that,' Mr Swinney added. As well as a meeting early on Tuesday, the First Minister was also invited to a dinner on Monday evening at the Aberdeenshire club alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Over a meal of langoustines and beef, the First Minister had his first face-to-face meeting with the US president – having spoken over the phone after his election win last November.

Rhyl Journal
4 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Funding golf tournament was not attempt to ‘butter up' Trump, says Swinney
The Government announced on Saturday, just days before the First Minister met Mr Trump, that £180,000 of public money would be spent to bring the Nexo Championship to Scotland next month. Mr Swinney said he had 'courteous' talks with Mr Trump on Tuesday morning, ahead of the official opening of a second course in Aberdeenshire. Gifts were also exchanged ahead of the meeting, with Mr Swinney giving the US president framed historic documents showing his family connections to Scotland, and a map of the Isle of Lewis. In return Mr Trump gave the First Minister an American bald eagle figurine. The leaders discussed the situation in Gaza and tariffs on Scotch whisky, which Mr Swinney said the president appeared to be willing to move on. Speaking to the PA news agency, the First Minister said the tournament funding was not to curry favour with the president. Asked if it was an effort to 'butter up' Mr Trump, he said: 'No, I think what I was trying to do is to make sure that a tournament that was coming to Scotland could be properly promoted. 'It's coming here, we've essentially intervened to secure a tournament quite late in the day.' Mr Swinney added that the Government provides cash to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) in St Andrews. 'If the principle is good enough for the R&A, it's good enough for Trump International,' he said. Asked about his relationship with Mr Trump following his first face-to-face meetings with the leader, Mr Swinney said there had been 'very good and courteous' conversations between the two. 'I think we talked well about the issues that matter to the people of Scotland,' he said. 'He has a deep affinity with Scotland, so he's got a warmth and an empathy towards Scotland and he was interested in all the issues that I was raising about Scotland. 'So I think we had a very welcome opportunity to engage in dialogue and to build a relationship.' Asked if he believes that positive relationship will continue into the future, the First Minister said he does, adding the president ended the meeting by urging him to contact the US administration should he wish to raise any issues. 'I intend to take him up on that issue, because my job as First Minister of Scotland is to promote and protect the interests of the country and I can engage constructively with the president of the United States to do that,' Mr Swinney added. As well as a meeting early on Tuesday, the First Minister was also invited to a dinner on Monday evening at the Aberdeenshire club alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Over a meal of langoustines and beef, the First Minister had his first face-to-face meeting with the US president – having spoken over the phone after his election win last November.