Morgan Stanley Joint Venture With MUFG Tops First Half Japan M&A

Morgan Stanley’s joint venture with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. was the top adviser for Japanese mergers and acquisitions in the first half, a period marked by a sharp fall in deals amid growing uncertainty in the global economy.

Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities advised on 16 deals with a combined value of 1.86 trillion yen ($13.6 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The total value of all deals involving Japanese companies in the six months through June was roughly 12 trillion yen, down about 20% from a year earlier.

“Market conditions were tough,” said Atsushi Tatsuguchi ...