(Japan) Japan’s league table for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) during the first half of 2003 is set to be topped by three foreign investment banks, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Securities and Nikko Citigroup, according to analysts.The three combined as financial advisers on a US$16 billion deal involving Resona Holdings, which saw the Japanese government sink 1.96 trillion yen into propping up the struggling bank. The deal accounted for some 80 percent of the country’s M&A market during the period.
Nomura Securities analyst Jiro Nakano told Reuters the number of M&A cases in Japan was on the decline.
“A corporate restructuring spree seen in late 2000 through early last year is now taking a breather, although I cannot see any clear reversal in the underlying trend just yet,” he said.
He said M&A deals involving Japanese companies, not including banks, dropped by ten percent in the first half of 2003 compared to the same period a year ago. Even worse was the number of cross border deals which fell by 20 to 30 percent.
However, he said the government’s attempt to solve the problem loans issue could lead to an upturn in M&A activity.