Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp is preparing to launch a $627-million private credit fund with US asset manager Neuberger Berman to finance Japanese companies pursuing acquisitions, Nikkei Asia reported.
According to the report, Neuberger Berman will raise money from domestic and overseas institutional investors while also helping identify merger and acquisition opportunities involving SMBC’s clients and structuring lending through the fund.
The fund is expected to be launched as early as June and will target 100 billion yen ($627 million) in capital within a year, Nikkei said. The partners aim to expand that to 500 billion yen over five years.
The financing will be extended to acquisition funds and large corporations.
The move comes as Japan’s dealmaking market accelerates sharply. Citing Recof Data, Nikkei said the value of M&A transactions involving Japanese companies hit a record 38 trillion yen in 2025, up 86% from a year earlier and above the previous peak set seven years ago.
The number of deals also reached an all-time high, reflecting a stronger appetite for acquisition financing.
The initiative also highlights a broader shift in corporate funding. More than 80% of fundraising by listed Japanese companies still comes from bank borrowing, Nikkei said, but deposit growth has slowed as Japan’s population declines and households diversify how they manage assets.
The report said SMBC is also considering a separate fund with Nippon Life Insurance, while Aozora Bank and Resona Bank launched similar vehicles in 2025 worth several hundred billion yen.
Last month, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management (Singapore) (SMDAMSG) and Singapore-based Aravest Private Funds secured $165 million for their joint APAC Real Estate Credit strategy.
The strategy was launched late last year with commitments of $120 million.
Sponsored by SMBC Group and co-managed by SMDAMSG and Aravest, the fund marks the first in a private credit series to be developed by SMBC Group under its new SMBC Private Markets platform.
Private credit in the Asia-Pacific region is approaching a period of structural expansion that reflects deeper changes in the region’s financial landscape, according to Michel Lowy, co-founder and CEO of SC Lowy.
While private credit in the US and Europe continues to operate within mature and well-defined ecosystems, APAC is evolving along a different trajectory, shaped by fragmentation, rising financing needs in capital-intensive sectors, and a steady reallocation of global and regional capital.
