90% of Listed Companies in Japan Consider M&A

More than 90% of listed companies in Japan consider mergers and acquisitions as a key growth driver, according to a survey conducted by Nihon M&A Center Inc. Of the 196 respondents, which include manufacturers and non-manufacturers, 26% said they actively seek M&As, while 65.3% said they consider them if favorable deals come along; 46.7% said they have approached other companies for M&As over the last two years.

YTD 2010, total overseas M&As by Japanese companies were up 24% on the year at 367. Japan's resource-related acquisitions hit a record this year, totaling 35 deals with JPY 860 billion (USD 10.5 billion) according to Recof Corp. Meanwhile, M&As of Japanese businesses by Chinese firms came to 37, up 11 from a year earlier, while those by US firms remained little changed at 35. In monetary terms, M&As of Japanese businesses by U.S. firms are still far higher at JPY 194 billion (USD 2.4 billion) despite a 47% plunge from a year earlier. M&As by Chinese firms were still very modest at JPY 28.8 billion (USD 353 million).