Japan's 'top' shipbuilder restructures: Imabari gains upper hand in JMU

Imabari Shipbuilding, considered to be one of the biggest shipbuilding players in Japan, has entered an agreement with compatriot JFE Steel Corporation and IHI Corporation to acquire a portion of the shares of Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU)previously owned by JFE and IHI.

As disclosed, once approvals from relevant domestic and international authorities are secured, the voting rights in JMU are set to shift from the current structure (Imabari: 30%, JFE: 35%, IHI: 35%) to an updated one, i.e., Imabari 60%, JFE 20% and IHI 20%.

Imabari Shipbuilding and JMU established a capital and business alliance on January 1, 2021, and jointly launched Nihon Shipyard, a joint venture (JV) focused on commercial ship designs and sales and to ‘bolster’ the international competitiveness of Japan’s shipbuilding industry.

However, in light of the increasingly challenging global market landscape anticipated in the future, the parties said they had determined that ‘strengthening’ their collaboration was necessary.

Despite being the world’s third biggest shipbuilding nation, Japan has seen a decline in both construction volume and order intake, which is why collaboration between companies