Positive Convergent Trends Contribute to Active Japanese M&A Market

In an article authored for IFLR, Jeremy White and Bryce Gray discuss some of the trends fueling M&A and dealmaking activity in Japan. As the article notes:

“In Japan, several market trends are converging, leading to increasing optimism that the M&A market in Japan will continue to become more active and more open to investment.”

These include factors like improved corporate governance, the increasing influence of shareholder activists, and the continuing impact of updated corporate governance and takeover guidelines from the Japanese government.

“These positive trends, as well as other factors such as a persistently weak yen and a shift in investor interest from China, are contributing to a recovering level of M&A deal volume in Japan. Specifically, there is an increasing number of deals by private equity funds in Japan. According to Mergermarket data, of all PE deals in Japan during the last 20 years, including both acquisitions and divestitures, around 75% of the deals were concentrated in just the last five years.”

Read the full article (subscription required).