By Atsuko Fukase
TOKYO-- Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Thursday that it has
agreed to purchase the U.S. loan assets of Royal Bank of Scotland
Group for around $3 billion, as Japanese companies snap up overseas
assets at a record pace.
Mizuho, Japan's second-largest lender by assets, said it will
acquire $36.5 billion in corporate loans and commitments from RBS
in a deal that will help it boost its global presence in corporate
lending and debt issuance.
While Japanese banks face soft demand for loans at home, and
interest rates near historically low levels, they have large cash
piles to spend in search of overseas growth. They have expanded
their presence in other Asian markets in recent year, particularly
in Southeast Asia. Mizuho, for example, is also in talks with
Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp. about buying its 60% stake
in Bank of Commerce, which is valued at more than $500 million,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Mizuho's deal with RBS is just the latest by a Japanese company
looking for opportunity abroad to offset slow growth at home.
Japanese firms in a range of sectors have announced $24.9 billion
of overseas mergers and acquisitions so far this year, not counting
the Mizuho-RBS deal, according to data provider Dealogic. That's
the most ever for the time period, exceeding last year's
year-to-date total of $18.28 billion, which included Suntory
Holdings Inc.'s $13.95 billion acquisition of Beam Inc.
Among recent deals, Asahi Kasei Corp. this week agreed to buy
the energy-storage business of Charlotte, N.C.-based Polypore
International Inc. for $2.2 billion. Last week, Japan Post Holdings
Co. said it would buy Australian logistics company Toll Holdings
Ltd. for $5.1 billion, while Kintetsu World Express Inc., a
Japanese air freight operator, agreed to buy APL Logistics Inc.
from Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. for $1.2
billion.
Canon Inc. said earlier this month it would acquire Axis
Communications AB of Sweden for $2.8 billion, and last month
trading house Itochu Corp. jointly took a joint 20% stake in
China's Citic Ltd. with Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group, with its
share coming to around $5.2 billion.
The buying spree comes despite a two-year decline in the yen
that has made overseas assets more expensive in the local currency.
Still, bankers say withering growth prospects at home mean the
yen's weakness is unlikely to slow the pace.
Japanese banks are also eyeing assets put up for sale in Asia
and elsewhere by European rivals such as RBS who are pulling back
from overseas markets, partly due to the need to comply with
tighter global capital rules.
Including Mizuho, Japan's top three lenders have all acquired
operations or assets from RBS, which is 80% owned by the U.K.
government. In 2010, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., or MUFG,
bought RBS's project-finance team and its $6 billion loan portfolio
in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2012, Sumitomo Mitsui
Financial Group Inc. bought the RBS Aviation Capital
aircraft-leasing business for $7.2 billion.
Write to Atsuko Fukase at atsuko.fukase@wsj.com
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