According to “ Asia
Pacific News.Net ” Nomura Holdings Inc.,Japan’s leading mergers
adviser for a second year, plans to expand its acquisitions team by 20 percent
as an expanding economy encourages takeovers.

Nomura, which worked on
a record $81 billion of deals in the nation this year, will add about 20
bankers in Japan and more in Europe and the U.S., said Kenji Kimura, who heads
the 100-strong mergers group. Merrill Lynch & Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ
Securities Co., the firm’s closest rivals in 2005, say they also plan to hire.

The value of announced
mergers and acquisitions in Japan surged 64 percent this
year to $143.5 billion, 5.6 percent of the global total, Bloomberg data show.
Advisory work may swell next year as companies in the world’s second-biggest
economy seek growth to compete and fend off hostile bids from overseas, said
Atsushi Saito, president of the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan

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