China and Taiwan led a record foreign acquisition spree in Japan last year, as traditional barriers to larger-scale inbound dealmaking fell and Asia increased its dominance as the world’s biggest buyer.
Although the number of inbound deals was slightly lower in 2016 than in the previous year, their total value of ¥2.56tn ($22bn), according to data from the Japanese research house Recof, marked a 150 per cent increase from 2015 levels. Bankers and lawyers say that trajectory is likely to continue this year.
M&A consultants expect Japan to emerge as an even richer source of potential deal targets as the yen remains weak against the dollar, many smaller listed companies continue to command relatively low price/book ratios and ageing demographics encourage elderly company owners to cash in by selling out.