Japan Deal Momentum
M&A, Private Equity and Tech Trends
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Japan dealmakers have a booming pipeline going into 2022. Deal activity for inbound, outbound, domestic, and private equity-related M&A all saw an uptick in 2021 and is expected to continue this trajectory in the months ahead.
Inbound M&A in 2021 (YTD; 16 December) saw a 215% increase on year totalling USD 25.9bn over 59 deals while outbound M&A recorded USD 72.3bn across 250 deals compared with USD 38.2bn over 214 deals in 2020. Domestic M&A, meanwhile, saw a 29% increase in deal volume in 2021 (YTD) with 519 deals compared with a year prior.
Private equity buyouts and exits, and corporate divestitures will continue to be key themes in dealmaking in 2022.
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10:45
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11:00
Live Virtual Briefing starts
This live panel will reflect on 2021 deal activity and discuss the outlook for Japan M&A in 2022, including:
- Digital transformation (DX) strategy is a key focus for companies and M&A to obtain the necessary skills and technologies. What are some of the important trends, deal triggers, and issues to watch out for when considering DX in dealmaking and company strategy?
- ESG factors are now a crucial part of dealmaking but what lies ahead for Japan, Inc. and how best can they prepare?
- PE investment in Japan is on the rise, coinciding with conglomerates shedding prominent business units and subsidiaries. Where are the opportunities and what can we expect?
- Omicron has closed borders and put markets at unease. Is the latest coronavirus variant expected to impact dealmaking in 2022, and how best can dealmakers mitigate the risks?
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11:50
Live Q&A
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12:00
Closing remarks
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Masahiko (“Masa”) Ishida is a partner and head of the Japan corporate group in DLA Piper’s Tokyo office. Masa has a wide range of M&A and Private Equity experience in the Japanese market and abroad over his 18 year career. Masa has led many notable large acquisitions on behalf of his clients across various sectors including consumer goods, technology, finance and life sciences. He has also worked on behalf of governmental agencies and multinational trading companies in Japan.
Masa has been recognized as a leading M&A lawyer by many legal publications and ranking institutions such as Chambers Global and Legal 500. Masa was also recently recognized as one of the “Dealmakers in Asia” for 2020 by Asian Legal Business. Prior to joining DLA Piper, Masa practiced at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and thereafter at a multinational boutique investment bank in New York.
Masa is a graduate of the University of Tokyo Graduate Schools of Law and Politics and of Columbia Law School where he was a Fulbright Scholar. Masa was also a visiting scholar at the Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB) at Columbia Business School. Masa is admitted to practice law in Japan and NewYork State.

Name:
Rei Kyogoku
Current Position:
Executive Officer, Head of Investment Banking
Date of Birth:
August 30, 1969
Education:
Graduated from Faculty of Law, Keio University, March 1992
Professional Career
April 1992
Joined The Sakura Bank, Limited
September 1997
Sakura Finance International Limited (London)
June 2001
Deputy Manager, Corporate Clients Group Strategy Department, Daiwa Securities SMBC Co., Ltd.
September 2001
Deputy Manager, Principal Finance Department
July 2002
Vice President, Corporate Planning Department, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
December 2002
Vice President, Corporate Planning Department, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
July 2006
Senior Vice President, Corporate Planning Department
April 2007
Senior Vice President, Financial Institutions Group, Investment Banking Division, Lehman Brothers Japan Inc.
November 2008
Head of FIG, Investment Banking Division, Barclays Capital Japan Ltd.
June 2011
Director, FIG, Investment Banking Division, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.
July 2013
Managing Director, FIG / Public Corporations and Head of Governmental PT, Investment Banking Division
September 2014
Managing Director and Head of Global FIG and Public Corporations,
Investment Banking Division
March 2019
Executive Officer, Head of Investment Banking (Telecom Media
Technology and Heavy Industries, Industrial, Global FIG and Public Corporations)
September 2019
Executive Officer, Head of Investment Banking (Technologies & General Industries Group, Telecom Media & Information Technology, In

Work Experience
Mizuho Bank (former Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank)
- 1993, Join Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank
- 1997-2001, Work at Chicago branch and NY branch
Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd.
- 2003, Start working at M&A advisory group across a variety of industries including food & beverage, retail, paper, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, steel & metals, and leasing.
- 2017-2021, Appointed Department Head of Advisory Department II
- 2021-present, Appointed Joint Head of Products Business Division and Head of Global Advisory
Education
- B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo, MBA from Oxford University, and Master in Finance from London Business School.
Chiaki joined KPMG FAS in September 2010and has been involved in various cross border and domestic M&A transactions.
Recently closed deals includes
- Tender offer by Mitsui & Co of GOYO Foods Industry
- Tender offer by Suntory Holdings of Dynac Holdings
- Ajinomoto on its disposal of French Animal Nutrition company
- Hitachi Hitech on its acquisition of VLC in Spain
- J Oil Mills on its acquisition of Premium Fats and Premium Nutrients
- Sekisui House setting up a joint venture with Urban Splash in UK
- Advantech on its acquisition of Omron Nogata
- Socionext on its disposal of Socionext Embedded Software Austria to Artsparks Holdings
- Modelez on its disposal of Japanese candy business to Kasugai Seika
- Daikin Industries on its acquisition of Italian Heroflon, a fluoropolymer compounds provider for automotive use
- Sekisui Chemicals on its acquisition of Vietnamese Tien Phong Plastics
- M3 on its acquisition of Axio Medical Holdings from Electra Partners
- Taiyo Oil on its acquisition of Nansei Sekiyu
- Tender offer by House Food of GABAN
- Nippon Koei on its acquisition of BDP, a British architect and engineering company
- Nippon Koei on its tender of Hyder Consulting, a US design consulting company
- Toyota Tsusho on its acquisition of Scholz, a German metal scrap recycling company
- Toyota Tsusho on its acquisition of French CFAO
- SG Holdings on it acquisition of Expolanka, a Sri Lankan transportation company
- Glory on its acquisition of Talaris, a UK producer of cash counting equipment, from Carlyle
- Ajinomoto on setting up a joint venture with Lautan Group, an Indonesian chemical company
- Ajinomoto Pharmaceutical on its disposal of its infusion business to Yoshindo
- Ajinomoto on its disposal of IT subsidiary to Nomura Research Institute.
Before joining KPMG, Chiaki worked for Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services for 4 years as manager of the M&A advisory group. Chiaki was involved in both domestic and cross border transactions, such as Cosmo oil setting up a JV in Korea with Hyundai group(advising Cosmo oil ) , Tommy Hilfiger International acquiring Tommy Hilfiger Japan from Itochu corp (advising Tommy Hilfiger International ), and Joint Corporation acquired by Orixgroup.
Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Chiaki worked for the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, where she served as a member of the M&A advisory team, overseas business team.

Joined Fujitsu in August 2021. Currently engaged in international acquisition deals in IT service targets. Previous to career in Fujitsu, Mr. Matsumoto led growth and buyout media investment activities in a Japanese Public-Private fund. Started his career in investment banking industry and has worked for investment activities in TMT industry for 20 years.

Yoichiro Shimizu is responsible for Datasite’s business development strategies and growth in Japan, as well as management of the local team.
He has more than 20 years’ experience in IT solution sales with major IT consulting firms and system integrators (SI). Shimizu began his career as a sales and marketing executive in New York to develop new opportunities for finance, high tech, automotive, manufacturing, and other verticals where he built strong and long-term relationships with channel accounts, SI partners, and C-level executives.
With extensive knowledge of country risk management and macroeconomics, Shimizu has worked with German, UK and US companies based in Japan. He also managed a startup company as CEO for more than 9 years and lead it to profitability.
About Datasite
Datasite, formerly known as Merrill Corporation, is a leading SaaS provider for the M&A industry, empowering dealmakers around the world with the tools they need to succeed across the entire deal lifecycle. For more information, visit www.datasite.com