Japan Cabinet delays M&A reform
The Cabinet has approved a set of Bills to update Japan\'s corporate law, with one of them featuring a one-year delay for easing restrictions on foreign companies involved in mergers and acquisitions of Japanese firms.
The Japan Times says that under the M&A Bill, foreign companies would be allowed to use their shares and cash or other assets as compensation in M&A deals. At present, they are only allowed to use the shares of companies established in Japan. But the government decided to put the brakes on loosening M&A rules for a year to 2007 due to pressure from lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who are worried about an increase in hostile takeovers led by foreign entities. Full report in The Japan Times