Total value of Japan MA transactions grew 14 in JanSept
Domestic deals, including Toshiba and JSR, led growth
Low interest rates, new guidelines likely to help momentum

TOKYOHONG KONG, Oct 5 Reuters Japan39;s MA market is standing out against a worldwide decline this year, thanks to surging domestic deals as rising costs, stricter governance rules and shareholder pressure force companies to explore strategic options.

Total value of MA transactions involving Japanese companies grew 14 yearonyear to 111 billion for the first nine months of 2023, making the country the only major market in the world that recorded growth, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The momentum is expected to continue in the nearterm as prospects of more corporate restructuring, carveouts and management buyouts make it a favoured hunting ground for global private equity.

The Japanese stock market is performing quite well and this type of favourable environment encourages the founders, and those with concentrated ownership to consider selling, said Bain Capital Asia managing partner David GrossLoh.

In the next 612 months, there are easily several billion dollars worth of deal opportunities that are in our pipeline, including a couple of billiondollarplus takeprivate situations, he said.

Domestic deals, including private equity buyouts of Toshiba and JSR that totalled over 20 billion, surged 67 to be the major driver, reversing the traditional outbound acquisition model for growth, LSEG data…