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Strategies & Market Trends : Speculating in Takeover Targets
ULBI 7.610-2.7%9:30 AM EST

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To: richardred who wrote (4329)12/19/2016 12:08:55 PM
From: richardred   of 7139
 
Japan's SMBC buying US freight car lessor Purchase of American Railcar Leasing coincides with Trump infrastructure promises

TOKYO -- Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. plans to acquire a U.S. company that leases freight cars in a move calculated to gain from demand spurred by infrastructure spending once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

SMBC will purchase all shares of American Railcar Leasing owned by a fund controlled by U.S. billionaire investor Carl Icahn. The deal, thought to be worth in the neighborhood of $3 billion, is set to close during the first half of next year.

ARL is the sixth-largest freight car leasing company in the U.S. based on the number of cars owned. Customers leasing ARL cars include those moving cereals and grains, petrochemicals and natural resources. The company earned roughly 12 billion yen ($102 million) in operating profit on approximately 35 billion yen in sales for the year ended December 2015.

SMBC purchased another U.S. rail car leasing company in December 2013, which was rebranded as SMBC Rail Services. The Japanese banking corporation aims to expand its American market share with the latest deal. SMBC will consider merging the two units at a later date.

Freight car leasing has long been considered a stable growth business since it relies on domestic demand, but there is a chance that an economic stimulus package coming from the Trump administration will give the segment an added lift. If Trump's domestic policies lead to increased infrastructure spending, it will boost demand for shipping.

SMBC began negotiations about the purchase before the November election, but apparently the Japanese group decided that leasing opportunities will increase if Trump delivers on his pledge to build a strong American economy.

Overseas strategies at Japanese banking groups have centered on Asia for the past few years, but that approach now faces headwinds in the face of economic slowdowns. Some observers say those lenders are shifting the focus of their international expansion to the U.S. for the time being. The three Japanese megabanks lent $176.5 billion to North America during the year ended March 2016, according to the Bank of Japan. That marks another double-digit increase over the previous year, putting North America ahead of Asia as the largest lending market for the megabanks.

Inside Japan, the BOJ's negative rate policy continues to put the squeeze on deposit and lending margins. The problem is compounded by the woeful demand for corporate financing, pushing banks to develop sources of earnings outside of loans.

asia.nikkei.com
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