Survey: 70% of Japanese Companies Expect Rise in Inbound M&A
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Between mid-March and mid-April, The Sankei Shimbun surveyed 107 major Japanese companies regarding their stance on mergers and acquisitions. Nearly 70% of respondents said they expect M&A activity by foreign firms targeting Japanese companies to increase. This is roughly 10 percentage points higher than in the previous survey conducted in late 2024.
However, only 3.7% of companies said they had introduced measures to guard against unsolicited takeovers, highlighting how little progress has been made on the defensive front.
The risks associated with inbound M&A resurfaced in 2024 when Seven & i Holdings received a buyout proposal from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard. The incident underscored growing concerns that no Japanese company is immune, with one megabank executive remarking, "Every company is now effectively for sale." Reflecting that sentiment, not a single firm in the survey said it expects inbound M&A activity to decline.
However, when asked about their stance on takeover defenses, 34.6% of companies said they had yet to make any decisions. Only around 13% said they had either implemented or were considering such measures. The rapid shift in conditions favoring inbound acquisitions — driven by a weak yen and labor shortages — appears to have left many firms struggling to keep pace.
Meanwhile, 54.2% of firms said they are taking measures to address pressure from activist investors. These investors, who target Japanese companies perceived as prioritizing revenue over efficiency, are drawing a strong response. One company in the transport and logistics sector noted, "We manage our business with a focus on capital costs and share price."
Efforts to improve corporate value are being backed by both the Japanese government and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Alongside these initiatives, momentum is expected to build around establishing more concrete and strategic takeover defenses.
Surveyed companies included Ajinomoto, Bridgestone, Canon, Fujitsu, Japan Airlines, KDDI, Kirin Holdings, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsui & Co. Nintendo, NTT, Panasonic Holdings, Rakuten Group, Seven & i Holdings, Shiseido, SoftBank Group, Sumitomo Corporation, and Nissan Motor.
Author: Kazuya Nemoto, The Sankei Shimbun
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