A surprisingly large number of companies in Japan are into Russia-focused M&A
Recently I had some opportunities to talk to the bankers in the second-tier companies, and I was surprised by how strong and practical their interest to M&A deals between Japanese and Russian companies is. Although I am not at liberty to mention the company names, I am aware of one Japanese bank that has formed a partnership with a leading Russian brokerage/investment bank and is currently sourcing deals, of one Japanese diversified financial holding that is keen on Russian real estate, and one German bank that apparently has a dedicated team for this kind of deals. And I have a suspicion that this is only the tip of the iceberg.
What is most surprising for me, is that the two Japanese financial behemoths, to one of which I belonged until very recently, apparently talk about Russia more than actually do anything. It is the second-tier companies that walk the talk.
It is definitely a good news for me, as somebody would probably be needing people with my kind of skillset after all. Let's see how the things play out.
Recently I had some opportunities to talk to the bankers in the second-tier companies, and I was surprised by how strong and practical their interest to M&A deals between Japanese and Russian companies is. Although I am not at liberty to mention the company names, I am aware of one Japanese bank that has formed a partnership with a leading Russian brokerage/investment bank and is currently sourcing deals, of one Japanese diversified financial holding that is keen on Russian real estate, and one German bank that apparently has a dedicated team for this kind of deals. And I have a suspicion that this is only the tip of the iceberg.
What is most surprising for me, is that the two Japanese financial behemoths, to one of which I belonged until very recently, apparently talk about Russia more than actually do anything. It is the second-tier companies that walk the talk.
It is definitely a good news for me, as somebody would probably be needing people with my kind of skillset after all. Let's see how the things play out.
Comments
Let me take the second stance.
Yes, Russia has a stock market. Most of the trading is done on two main stock exchanges - MICEX and RTS, the former comprising the largest bulk of it. Both are located in Moscow, and it is customary for large Russian companies to list on both. The main difference stock-wise is that prices are denominated in USD on MICEX, and in RUB on RTS.
The growth of the trading volume has been spectacular throughout the 2000 - 2007, than the credit crunch took its toll on it, but I expect it to continue growing in the mid term.
Hope this answers your question.
cool comment,
I'm writing a piece on second-tier Russian investment banks, like Metropol,Veles, Centre INvest, looking at M&A prospects. Do you know of any international / Japanese banks are looking at second tier Russian investment banks (the top tier are now mostly foreign owned)? Any ideas?
Thanks for an answer
G.
Sorry for the very late reply - I've been back to my home country for a couple of weeks, and internet connection is hard to come by over there...
With regards to your question, I am not aware of any specific plans by foreign companies to buy into Russian investment banking.
What I do know, however, is that Metropol is very keen to establish business in Japan and has been wooing big Japanese banks (including the one I used to work for) to form a partnership. As far as I know, they are still looking. I happen to know some people in Metropol personally, and can say that they have a lot of enthusiasm, but often lack professionalism, so I would be careful about considering them as an M&A target.
Overall, Russian investment banking is in its nascence, and commercial banking currently yields higher growth rates.
I could expect that after the credit crunch dust settles down, some European banks, especially German or French may be interested in acquiring Russian IBs, but this is just a hunch.
Hope this helps.