JETRO Invest Japan Report 2023
Chapter2. Trends in Inward FDI in JapanSection 5.Trends in Inbound M&A in Japan

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

In 2022, the number of cross-border M&A deals in Japan (hereafter, inbound M&A deals) was 153 (on a completion date basis), down 14.5% from the previous year (Chart 2-15). The number of inbound M&A deals increased by double digits for three consecutive years from 2019 to 2021, but turned downward in 2022.

Looking at the number of inbound M&A deals in 2022 by investor country and region, the U.S. was the largest with 52 deals (34.0% of the total), followed by Hong Kong (19 deals, 12.4% of the total) and China (16 deals, 10.5% of the total). Singapore, which ranked second with 20 deals in 2021, had 8 deals (60.0% decrease year-on-year) (Chart 2-16).

Created as of October 20, 2023 using the database Workspace. The number of M&A transactions with Japan is shown on a calendar year basis for the period from 2000 to 2022. As the number of cases170 in 2000, 125 in 2001, 137 in 2004, 139 in 2006, 23 in 2007, 194 in 2009, 179 in 2010, 140 in 2012, 92 in 2014, 143 in 2015, 141 in 2017, 96 in 2018, as shown in below.127 cases in 2019, 179 cases in 2021, 153 cases in 2022, the largest number in 2007 and the smallest number in 2013. — Chart 2-15: Trends in Inbound M&A Deals in Japan

Chart 2-16: Inbound M&A Deals in Japan in 2022 by Investor Country and Region (# of Projects, %)
Ranking	Country/ Region	# of Projects	# of Projects Growth rate(YoY)	# of Projects Share
1	United States	52	-11.9	34.0
2	Hong Kong	19	137.5	12.4
3	China	16	0.0	10.5
4	South Korea	13	-35.0	8.5
5	Singapore	8	-60.0	5.2
—	Total	153	-14.5	100.0

Source: "Workspace"（Refinitiv）(as of Oct.20, 2023)

2. Major Inbound M&A Deals in Japan from January 2022 to June 2023

Major inbound M&A deals in the above period include the tender offer for Hitachi Transport System by HTSK (a special purpose company of the U.S. investment fund KKR), tender offer for Hitachi Metals by BCJ-52 (a special purpose company led by U.S. investment fund Bain Capital), tender offer for NIPPO Co. by Roadmap Holdings (a special purpose company established by Goldman Sachs and ENEOS) (Chart 2-17).

Chart 2-17: Major Inbound M&A Deals in Japan from January 2022 to June 2023
Completion	Target Company	Target Company :Sector	Acquiring Company	Acquiring Company: Country / Region	Acquiring Company:Sector	Outline	Value (Million US$)
February 2023	Hitachi Transport System	Transportation, logistics, and infrastructure	HTSK(KKR)	U.S.	Other finance	U.S. investment firm KKR acquired Hitachi Transport System for about 670 billion yen through a special-purpose company HTSK and others (March 2023). Hitachi Transport System changed its name to LOGISTEED. (April 1, 2023) and formed a strategic partnership with Hitachi, formerly the parent company of Hitachi Transport System, to promote the bulk logistics contracting business.	5,985
December 2022	Hitachi Metals	Metals and mining	BCJ-52(Bain Capital)	U.S.	Other finance	BCJ-52, led by investment fund Bain Capital, purchased Hitachi Metals' shares. The company is no longer Hitachi's consolidated subsidiary, and aims to strengthen its competitiveness and recover profitability under Bain Capital and others.	4,000
April 2023	Evident	Health/medical equipment and materials	BCJ-66(Bain Capital)	U.S.	Other finance	Olympus transferred all shares of its wholly owned subsidiary Evident, which is involved in the scientific business such as biological microscopes and industrial endoscopes, to a BCJ-66 led by investment fund Bain Capital. Evident will take over the scientific business, which has different business characteristics from the medical field, and the two companies each will establish a management structure suited to their respective characteristics.	3,110
April 2022	Mitsubishi-UBS Realty	Asset management and investment advisory	76(KKR)	U.S.	Asset Management and investment advisory	In March 2022, U.S. investment firm KKR agreed to acquire, through its subsidiary, all outstanding shares of Mitsubishi-UBS Realty, held by Mitsubishi and UBS Asset Management for 230 billion yen. Mitsubishi-UBS Realty is a real estate management company with assets under management of approximately 1.7 trillion yen (US$15 billion).	1,937
March 2022	NIPPO	Transportation, logistics and infrastructure	Roadmap Holdings (Goldman Sachs, ENEOS)	U.S.	Other finance	A tender offer by Roadmap Holdings, a special-purpose company formed by Goldman Sachs Group and ENEOS, NIPPO's parent company. ENEOS has been reviewing the ideal form of NIPPO, a listed subsidiary, from the perspective of improving the corporate value of the entire group and capital efficiency, and has decided to dissolve the parent-subsidiary listing and aim to optimize NIPPO management.	1,865
March 2023	Prince Hotel	Real estate	Reco Pine	Singapore	Other finance	As part of efforts to strengthen the financial and business structure of the Seibu Holdings Group, Prince Hotel, a consolidated company of the Group, transferred 26 assets including hotels it owns, to Singaporean corporation Reco Pine. The transfer price of the asset is 123.7 billion yen.	906
August 2022	Toshiba Carrier	Machinery	Global Comfort Solutions	U.S.	Other finance	U.S. air-conditioning equipment manufacturer Carrier acquired, through its subsidiary, Toshiba's 55% stake in Toshiba Carrier, a joint venture with Toshiba, which is also in the air-conditioning business, for approximately 100 billion yen. Toshiba's shareholding ratio became 5%.	901
September 2022	Huis Ten Bosch	Leisure and entertainment	PAG HTB Holdings	Hong Kong	Other finance	PAG, one of the largest asset-management companies in Asia, acquired all shares of Huis Ten Bosch owned by HIS for 66.66 billion yen, and it also acquired shares held by Kyushu Electric Power and others, making Huis Ten Bosch a wholly owned subsidiary of PAG. The total purchase price is about 100 billion yen.	481
January 2023	KITO	Machinery	Lifting Holdings BidCo (KKR)	U.S.	Professional services	A tender offer by a company established by U.S. investment firm KKR and others. It enhances corporate value through synergies from the management integration of KITO, a leading manufacturer of material handling equipment (hoists and cranes), and Crosby Group (U.S.), a leading provider of lifting and rigging solutions. The planned purchase price based on the data of announcement is 56.5 billion yen.	479
August 2022	Trend Micro	Software & Internet services	Valueact Capital Partners	U.S.	Alternative financial investment	U.S. investment firm Valueact Capital invested about 83.4 billion yen to acquire a stake in Trend Micro, taking its ownership to 8.73%. One of its objectives is to provide advice to the management team.	431
February 2022	SNK	Software	Electronic Gaming Development	Saudi Arabia	Other finance	MiSK Foundation, a Saudi youth development support organization established by Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, acquired Japanese game developer SNK, through its subsidiary, for about 51.2 billion yen, raising its stake from 33.3% to 96.18%. It aims to strengthen the entertainment sector.	415
March 2022	Blackstone's property portfolios	Housing	M&G Asia Property Fund	U.K.	Other finance	It acquired 30 residential properties or 1,575 units in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya for 49.2 billion yen.	415
March 2022	SENQCIA	Machinery	Lone Star Funds	U.S.	Alternative financial investment	U.S. investment firm Carlyle transferred all of its shares in building materials manufacturer SENQCIA to Loan Star Funds, another U.S. investment fund.	411
December 2022	ALBERT	IT consulting	Accenture	Ireland	Professional services	Consulting firm Accenture acquired ALBERT, a big data analytics company, and made it a wholly owned subsidiary, strengthening services utilizing data and artificial intelligence (AI).	272

Note: Major transactions are listed. The nationality of the acquisition company is the location of the ultimate parent company.
Source: Compiled from ""Workspace“ (Refinitiv) (as of October 20, 2023)

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