Aki Watanabe, Chairman of Asia Corporate Finance at Houlihan Lokey Japan, spoke with Jiji Press about the growing trend of going-private transactions in Japan. He noted that the recent surge in such deals marks a significant shift, with both management teams and shareholders increasingly viewing market exit as a viable option. According to him, the privatization of Toshiba in 2023 represented a turning point in this trend. At that time, he served as Chairman of Toshiba’s board and played a key role in leading the company through its privatization process.
Read the full article in Japanese here.