TOKYO - Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities claimed the leading position in advising Japan-related M&A transactions for the January to March 2024 period, with a total value of approximately US$13 billion, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
This marked a significant jump for the bank from seventh place the previous year and was attributed to their advisory role in the acquisition of M.D.C. Holdings, an American home construction company, by Sekisui House.
Following closely behind in the rankings were SMBC Nikko Securities in second place, Nomura Securities in third, and Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan in fourth.
Despite a 7% decrease in the total value of Japan-related M&A transactions compared to the same period last year, amounting to approximately US$32 billion, cross-border M&A activities between Japanese and foreign companies continued to be active. Despite the weak yen, the total value of acquisitions of overseas companies by Japanese firms tripled compared to the previous year. Notably, the largest deal was Renesas Electronics' acquisition of US software company Altium for approximately US$5.9 billion, with JP Morgan advising Altium and Deutsche Bank advising Renesas.
Mitsubishi Morgan's top ranking was attributed to its involvement in Sekisui House's acquisition of M.D.C. Holdings (announced in January 2024) for approximately US$4.7 billion.
Domestic M&A activity was also robust. In February, KDDI announced its acquisition of Lawson shares for approximately US$3.3 billion. KDDI was advised by Nomura and UBS Securities, Mitsubishi Corporation by Mitsubishi Morgan, and Lawson by SMBC Nikko and Daiwa Securities.
There was also a noticeable trend of using funds as a receptacle for carve-out transactions by large corporations.
In March, Panasonic Holdings entered into an agreement to transfer shares of Panasonic Automotive Systems to a fund advised by a group company of Apollo Global Management. SMBC Nikko advised Panasonic, while Mitsubishi Morgan and BofA Securities advised Apollo.
In February, Snow Peak announced a management buyout (MBO) in partnership with Bain Capital, privatizing the retailer of camping gear and equipment. According to Nikkei, Nobuhiko Kimura, Deputy Head of SMBC Nikko's M&A Advisory Department, noted that MBOs, hostile takeovers, and unsolicited acquisitions continued to be trends, marking a "Warring States period" in M&A.
Despite the yen's depreciation, many anticipate that M&A activities will continue to thrive.
Source: Nikkei
