[In-Person Only] Practical Points of the Startup M&A Guidance for CVCs and Corporates

Interest in M&A as a growth and exit path for startups keeps rising, and in May 2026 Japan published the Startup M&A Guidance setting out how such deals should be approached. This session looks at how to put that guidance into practice: not just what it says, but how it is being received on actual deals and what it implies for buy-side companies, viewed from both the deal-execution and the legal side. The panel features Kyosuke Hamada, senior capitalist at Sourcing Brothers, which supports corporates on growth-oriented M&A, and Koki Umeda, attorney at law firm ZeLo, who has handled many startup M&A deals. Topics include the background behind the guidance, what makes startup M&A different from conventional M&A, what buyers should keep in mind during evaluation and negotiation, and how to reconcile the legal view with business and growth strategy. A Q&A is included. The venue is 1F SQUARE-1 at Tokyo Innovation Base (TIB), in person only. Talks start at 19:00 and networking runs from 20:15. It is aimed at corporates considering acquisitions or capital tie-ups with startups, staff in corporate planning, new business, M&A, investment or legal roles, and CVC investors. TIB membership registration is required, and applications close at 12:00 on the day.