(Bloomberg) -- Mizuho Financial Group Inc. will expand its mergers and acquisitions business for small and medium-sized Japanese companies that have traditionally been under served. 

Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Securities will invest in Japan Blue M&A Advisory (JBMA), which was established by Nippon Management Systems to focus on the sector, according to people familiar with the situation. 

Japan’s aging population has caused a shortage of successors for smaller businesses. More than 50% of presidents of Japanese companies are older than 60, according to a 2022 survey by Teikoku Databank. The number of corporate bankruptcies due to succession difficulties exceeded 500 for the first time in 2023. 

After the investment, JBMA is expected to be owned more than 50% by Nippon Management Center, less than 40% by Mizuho Bank, and 10% by Mizuho Securities.

In Mizuho Financial Group, Mizuho Securities has been responsible for M&A between large companies while Mizuho Bank has been responsible for M&As of medium-sized companies with which it has relationships. However the group was not fully equipped to handle the M&A needs of smaller companies, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. 

A spokesperson for Mizuho Financial Group declined to comment. Nippon Management System did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

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