TOKYO — Japanese companies are increasingly selling off subsidiaries and business units, turning them into independent entities, to focus on their core operations, a trend experts say could get a further boost from the U.S. trade war.
Such divestitures are known in the financial industry as carve-outs. Last year, the number of these deals by listed companies in Japan climbed to its highest level since 2009, recording a post-financial crisis high, at 417. The momentum continues, with deals in the first three months of 2025 jumping 33% compared with the same period a year ago, according to Tokyo-based tracker RecofData.
