Financial Times (May 13)
For some time, “private equity firms have set their sights on the many profitable yet unloved parts of corporate Japan that sit under the umbrellas of conglomerates such as Toshiba, Hitachi and others.” Currently, “the attention on Japan could not be any greater. Much of the ‘dry powder’ sitting in funds raised for Asian dealmaking is now less likely to be used in China than to back increasingly ambitious deals in Japan.”
Tags: Ambitious, Asian, China, Conglomerates, Dealmaking, Dry-powder, Funds, Hitachi, Japan, Private equity, Profitable, Toshiba, Unloved
The Economist (September 26)
“The pandemic could lead governments to prolong the life of many undeserving firms. Keeping the growth of the undead in check will be vital to the long-term economic recovery…. Marginally profitable firms were central to Japan’s “lost decade” in the 1990s…. Zombie-infested industries suffered from inert labour markets and lower productivity growth. Since then, the rich world as a whole has begun to look more zombified.”
Tags: Economic recovery, Governments, Growth, Inert, Japan, Labour markets, Lost decade, Pandemic, Productivity, Profitable, Undeserving, Zombie, Zombified
