Major recent M&A cases
by Japanese companies in Malaysia
There were a total of 17 externally announced M&A deals in Malaysia by Japanese companies in 2023 that we have confirmed. Of these, 14 were investment or acquisition deals (8 were 100% buyouts) and 3 were exit deals, 7 deals in 2024 and 6 deals in 2025.
M&A deals in 2023
| Date | Industry | Invester/Buyer | Target Company/Seller | Scheme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb | Healthtech (medical insurance management services) | INFOCOM CORPORATION | HealthMetrics Sdn. Bhd. | Capital and business alliance |
| Feb | Mould manufacturing | TOWA CORPORATION | K-Tool Engineering Sdn. Bhd. | Business transfer and establishment of new company |
| Mar | Refrigerated and frozen warehousing, transport | NICHIREI LOGISTICS GROUP INC | NL Cold Chain Network（M）Sdn. Bhd. | Acquisition of additional 60% of shares and conversion to wholly-owned subsidiary |
| Mar | Information and communication goods retailing | Nojima APAC Limited | Thunder Match Technology Sdn. Bhd. | Acquisition of 100% of the shares and conversion into a wholly-owned subsidiary |
| Apr | Information and communications equipment manufacturing | Silitech Technology Corporation | Iwatsu （M） Sdn. Bhd. （Parent company: Iwastu Electric CO., LTD） | 100% share transfer |
| Apr | Event and content planning and production | NOMURA Co.,Ltd. | FrameMotion Studio Sdn. Bhd. | Dissolution of capital and business alliance |
| Apr | Cyber security services | MITSUI & CO., LTD | LGMS Bhd. | Acquisition of additional 23% shares |
| May | Tyre wholesale | MITANI CORPORATIN | Hoe Guan Pin Kee | Share acquisition (transaction completed on 30 December 2022 in the previous year) |
| Jun | Electrical product parts sales | RECOMM CO.,LTD. | Sin Lian Wah Electric Sdn. Bhd. | 100% share acquisition/becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary |
| Sep | Afforestation business | DAIKEN CORPORATION（Subsidiary：Daiken Sarawak Sdn. Bhd.） | WTK Reforestation Sdn. Bhd. | 100% share acquisition and conversion into a sub-subsidiary |
| Oct | System development | Likearisingsun Sdn. Bhd. | OK Blockchain Centre Sdn. Bhd. | Share transfer and liquidation proceedings |
| Oct | Marketing support and IT services | Bridge International INC. | TK International Sdn. Bhd. | Acquisition of 90% additional shares and conversion to wholly-owned subsidiary |
| Oct | Printing | Asahi Printing Co., Ltd. | Kinta Press & Packaging (M) Sdn. Bhd. | Acquisition of 65% shares/becoming a subsidiary |
| Nov | Paper wholesale | JAPAN PULP AND PAPER COMPANY LIMITED (Subsidiary：Japan Pulp & Paper (M) Sdn Bhd) | Mutiara Paper (M) Sdn. Bhd. | Acquisition of shares/becoming a subsidiary |
| Nov | Media hardware sales and technical services | JAPAN PULP AND PAPER COMPANY LIMITED (Subsidiary：Japan Pulp & Paper (M) Sdn Bhd) | Compedo Media Sdn. Bhd. | Acquisition of shares/becoming a subsidiary |
| Nov | Refrigerant business | Iwatani Corporation （Subsidiary：Iwatani Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.） | Westtech Chemicals Sdn. Bhd.、ISO Kimia (M） Sdn. Bhd. | Acquisition of shares |
| Dec | System integration | Internet Initiative Japan Inc. | PTC Systems Sdn. Bhd. | Acquisition of 100% shares/becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary |
M&A deals in 2024
| Date | Industry | Investor/Buyer | Target Company / Seller | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | IT | beBit,Inc. | ||
| Jan | Manufacturing (agriculture and fisheries) | FUJI OIL HOLDINGS INC. | Tsunago Sdn Bhd | 51% of RM180 million (approximately JPY5.6 billion) |
| Mar | Manufacturing (chemical) | Nisshin Chemical Co., Ltd. | Bodibasixs Manufacturing | |
| Mar | Manufacturing | Toyo Seikan Group Holdings | Premier Centre Group Sdn. Bhd. | USD 75M |
| Other | I&CO | |||
| Mar | EC | AnyMind Group | Arche Digital | USD1.5M |
| Apr | Other | Bushiroad Inc. | Gorin TechnicalIndustry (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd | 75% of all shares |
| Healthcare | Sumitomo Corporation | CareClinics Healthcare Services | ||
| Others | NTT DATA GROUP | GHL Systems Berhad | 58.7% of all shares | |
| Telecommunications | Adventure, Inc. | HELLO1010 | ||
| Managedcare | Sumitomo Corporation | CompuMed Services | ||
| Others | KPP Group Holdings Co., Ltd. | |||
| IT | Smartdrive Inc. | 57 Code Box | 28% of all shares | |
| Others | Komatsu Ltd. | UMW Komatsu Heavy Equipment | ||
| Other (Financial Solutions) | bee-informatica Co., Ltd | |||
| Others | Mitsubishi Corporation | |||
| Oct | IT | TechMatrix Corporation. | Firmus Sdn. Bhd. | JPY 5075 million |
| Oct | Renewable energy | CHUDENKO CORPORATION | ||
| Dec | Wholesale | IWATA & CO.,LTD. | ||
| Dec | Food & Beverage | SKYLARK HOLDINGS CO., LTD. |
M&A deals in 2025
| Date | Industry | Investor/Buyer | Target Company / Seller | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb | Finance | JACCS CO., LTD. | 49％ of Share (JPY3.5 Billion) | |
| Apr | Logistics | NICHIREI LOGISTICS GROUP INC | ||
| Apr | Wholesale | OZAX CORPORATION | ||
| Jun | Construction | SUMITOMO DENSETSU | ||
| Jun | Food | Yoshimura Food Holdings K.K. | ||
| Jun | Wholesale | Toyota Tsusho Corporation | USD 110 million (approximately JPY 16 billion). |
The following chart shows the number of M&As by Japanese companies in Malaysia over the last five years. After the pandemic, the number of deals increased in 2022, but declined in 2023, partly due to the depreciation of the yen, although it still remains at a certain level. Amid the global economic downturn, the number of cross-border M&As is on a downward trend, with only a few cases of Japanese companies acquiring companies for more than 10 billion yen in 2023. The number of M&As between Japanese companies and companies from other countries, not only in Malaysia, is expected to be lower than the previous year.