JETRO Invest Japan Report 2022
Chapter1. FDI Trends in the World and Japan Section6. Trends in Inbound M&A in Japan

1. Number of M&A Deals: Top 5 Countries and Regions

In 2021, the number of cross-border M&A deals to Japan (hereafter inbound M&A deals), based on the completion date, increased 22.6% from the previous year to 168 (Chart 1-16). The number of inbound M&A deals declined year-on-year for four consecutive years until 2018, but from 2019, it increased by double digits for three straight years. Looking at the number of deals in 2021 by investor country and region, the U.S. accounted for the largest at 56 deals(33.3% of the total), followed by Singapore (19 deals, 11.3% of the total) and South Korea (18 deals, 10.7% of the total) (Chart 1-17).

Chart 1-17: Inbound M&A Deals in Japan in 2021 by Investor Country and Region (%)
Ranking	Country/Region	# of Deals	Growth rate(YoY)	Share
1	US	56	43.6	33.3
2	Singapore	19	26.7	11.3
3	South Korea	18	38.5	10.7
4	China	15	0.0	8.9
5	UK	9	125	5.4
5	France	9	80	5.4
—	Total	168	22.6	100

Source: "Workspace" (Refinitiv) (as of June 23, 2022)

2. Major M&A Deals in Japan in 2021

Major M&A deals in Japan in 2021include the acquisition of Paidy Inc. by PayPal Holdings Inc (location of the ultimate parent company: US), and Takeda Consumer Healthcare Co., Ltd. by Oscar A-Co K.K. (location of the ultimate parent company: US) (Chart 1-18).

Chart 1-18: Major Inbound M&A deals in Japan in 2021
No.	Completion	Target company	Target company: Industry	Acquiring company	Acquiring company: Country/Region	Acquiring company: Industry	Value (US$ million)
1	October	Paidy Inc.	Other financials	PayPal Holdings Inc	US	Other financials	2,731
2	March	Takeda Consumer Healthcare Co., Ltd.	Pharmaceuticals	Oscar A-Co K.K.	US	Other financials	2,288
3	July	Shiseido Company, Limited-Personal Care Business	Other services, wholesale trade	K.K. Oriental Beauty Holding	UK	Other financials	1,524
4	November	Trygroup Inc.	Education	CVC Capital Partners Asia V Ltd	UK	Other financials	980
5	March	Rakuten Group, Inc.	E-commerce, B2B	Image Frame Investment (HK) Ltd	China	Other financials	606
6	November	GCA Corporation	Asset management, investment advisory	Houlihan Lokey Inc	US	Securities	458
7	February	Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited-TachoSil Business	Biotechnology	Corza Health Inc	US	Other financials	415
8	November	Text Trading Company, K.K.	Apparel sales	Foot Locker Inc	US	Apparel sales	360
9	June	Hulic Co., Ltd. -Hewlett Packard Japan Office Building	Commercial real estate	Tsubaki special-purpose company	Singapore	Asset management, investment advisory	353
10	December	Hanamizuki Holdings special purpose company -Kuwana Logistics Center	Commercial real estate	Hinoki LLC	Singapore	Other financials	307

Note: M&As with the top 10 transaction values are listed. The nationality of the acquiring company is the location of the ultimate parent company.
Source: "Workspace" (Refinitiv) (as of June 23, 2022)

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