Morgan Stanley ranked second for the first half of 2000 in the Japanese M&A league table (completed base) recently released by Thomson Financial Securities Data. Morgan Stanley closed 14 deals with the value of $6,930MM, including the buyout of Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Precision Technology and Sony Chemicals by Sony, and Nippon Dantai Life's sale of a 95% share to AXA.

The total value of announced M&A deals rose by 6% from $32.76BN to $34.72BN in Japan compared to the same period last year. The increase was driven by acquisitions in the telecommunications industry and ongoing restructuring in various industries. The value of announced cross-border transactions during the first half of the year fell to $7.54BN from $15.9BN last year while mergers between Japanese companies increased.

Japanese M&A rankings for January – June 2000
Rank		Value ($MM)	# of Deals
1	Merrill Lynch	14,477	12
2	Morgan Stanley	6,990	14
3	Nomura	5,992	35
4	SSB	3,961	8
5	IBJ	3,354	19
6	Goldman Sachs	2,897	7
7	Lehman Brothers	2,354	5
8	Chase Manhattan	2,323	1
9	KPMG	2,195	14
10	Nikko	1,559	32