TOKYO -- Japanese companies have placed corporate deal-making on the backburner as a result of the coronavirus, with the total transaction value of mergers and acquisitions sinking 63% to 2.2 trillion yen ($20 billion) in the six months to June, the lowest since 2002.
Overseas acquisitions especially took a hit, declining 76% to 1 trillion yen compared with the same period a year ago, while domestic deals dropped 30%, according to Tokyo-based research company Recof.
