Value of M&As leaps as Japan goes shopping

The value of Japanese mergers and acquisitions targeting overseas companies more than tripled to a record of ¥6.67 trillion between January and October, a private survey showed Saturday.

The figures suggest Japanese companies have gone on a buying binge overseas, aided by a stronger yen and falling stock prices hammered by the global financial crisis.

The spree comes at a time when investment funds in the United States and Europe, which were spearheading the corporate buyouts, are scaling back to deal with the financial meltdown.

According to a survey by RECOF Corp., which researches and brokers M&A deals, the headline figure includes investment by Japanese firms in overseas companies.

The annual value of M&As targeting overseas companies logged a record-high ¥8.61 trillion in 2006, RECOF said.

But the pace during the survey period this year has already surpassed that, it said.

The largest case in terms of value was Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.'s $9 billion purchase of a 21 percent stake on a fully diluted basis in U.S. bank Morgan Stanley.

The second-largest case was an $8.8 billion friendly tender offer by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. to acquire all shares in U.S. biotechnology-based drug firm Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to the survey.

Although Japanese manufacturers have been hit by the global economic downturn, some domestic firms, particularly those making profits on the back of rising energy and material costs, remain bullish about further investment to acquire overseas companies.

Marubeni Corp. President Teruo Asada said he believes now is a golden opportunity to purchase overseas firms.