Practical Trends In JV And Shareholders' Agreements In Japan

Recent Trends

This article outlines recent M&A trends in Japan, focusing in particular on the following transactions:

Going-private transactions

In April 2022, the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) implemented changes to market classifications in order to clarify the concept of each classification and to motivate companies to continuously improve their corporate value. From March 2023, all "Prime" and "Standard" Market companies were required to formulate, disclose and implement policies, targets and plans to improve their own cost of capital and return on capital. In January 2024, the TSE began publishing a list of companies that have disclosed information in accordance with these requirements. According to data released by the TSE on 15 January 2024, at the end of December 2023, about half of the listed companies in the Prime Market had a price-to-book ("P/B") ratio below 1x, and