Why they are looking at Singapore
Japan’s M&A market is large. RECOF, the Tokyo deal-data house, counted 5,115 M&A deals involving Japanese companies in 2025, up 8.8% on the year before, although it notes that outbound deals by Japanese companies fell that year. In RECOF’s commentary, Japanese acquisitions in ASEAN rank next only to those in North America and Europe, and among ASEAN countries Singapore comes first.
The reason is structural. As A&O Shearman puts it, “With a decreasing and ageing population, businesses are being pressured to seek growth through M&A activities.” A Japanese company that cannot grow at home buys growth abroad, and a well-run Singapore business is often the regional platform it is looking for.
Japan is also a major investor here: SingStat lists Japan among the top ten source economies of foreign direct investment in Singapore at the end of 2024.
Korean companies are expanding outward too. Korean overseas direct investment rose 8.7% to US$71.88 billion in 2025, with US$3.82 billion going to Singapore, according to The Korea Times. That is investment in general, not acquisitions alone, but it shows where Korean capital is pointed.
What makes them different buyers
They buy for the long term. In our experience a Japanese strategic acquirer usually wants a business it can integrate and keep, not one to resell in five years. That often means more interest in your team, customers and reputation than a financial buyer shows.
They decide by consensus. Japanese approval processes run through several layers of management, a practice known as ringi. Shigeki Tatsuno of law firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune told Financier Worldwide that Japanese companies are “generally slower at making decisions because they tend to have complex internal approval processes.” That article dates from 2015 and practice has moved, but in our experience the core point still holds: expect more questions, more meetings, and decisions that arrive later and then hold firm.
Deal teams carry less authority in the room. He also observed that Japanese deal teams “tend to have less authority to negotiate issues or conclude documentation than their foreign counterparts.” A point you agree in a meeting may need to travel back to Tokyo before it is final. Plan your timetable around that.
They often think in earnings, not EBITDA. In our experience many Japanese strategic buyers frame value as a multiple of profit after tax or before tax rather than EBITDA. We convert every offer back to the same basis so you can compare them fairly. See what your business is worth.
How to run a sale that works for them
- Start earlier than you would with a local buyer. Build in time for internal approvals, translated materials and site visits.
- Prepare bilingual-ready materials. Clear, precise English that translates cleanly beats marketing language. Numbers must reconcile perfectly; inconsistencies cost trust.
- Run them in parallel, not alone. A Japanese buyer’s careful pace can stall a sale if it is the only bidder. Competitive tension from other credible buyers keeps the timetable honest.
- Lead with continuity. Show how the business runs without you, who will stay, and how customers will be retained. This is usually what a long-term strategic owner is buying.
- Find them in their own language. In our experience many Japanese and Korean companies publish strategy and acquisition news in their own language first, so our buyer research for these markets uses Japanese and Korean sources, not only English ones.
Is a Japanese or Korean buyer right for you?
They can be an excellent fit for founders who care about legacy, team continuity and a patient owner, and who can tolerate a slower, more thorough process. They may be a poorer fit if you need speed above everything, or want to leave on day one. The only way to know what your business is worth to them is to put it in front of the right ones, alongside other credible buyers, at the same time.
This guide summarises the sources listed below as at the date shown, together with Growth Alliance Capital’s own experience, which is labelled as such. Where a source is older or not a primary statistic, we say so.