Corporate carve-outs have emerged as a defining theme of Asia Pacific M&A this year, with both global and regional companies increasingly putting APAC assets up for sale as they reshape portfolios and refocus on core operations.

A growing proportion of divestments are being run through structured auction processes rather than bilateral negotiations, indicating vendors are increasingly confident they can create competitive tension and maximize value while also ensuring they secure a sale.

Listed vendors have re-emerged this year as the primary source of divestitures accounting for 81% of active carve-out deals by volume and around half of the transactions by count. In 2024, public company divestments accounted for 60% of APAC carve-outs by volume.

Year-to-date, the value of APAC asset sale processes launched by a public vendor amount to USD 45.5bn, up nearly 50% from the same period in 2025, more than double 2024 levels and over three times the USD 14.1bn recorded in 2023.

According to Mergermarket’s APAC auction database, which was launched in October 2025, the number of active auctions has steadily increased over the past 11 months. An analysis of the data shows that active carve-out situations account for 22.2% (110 situations) of the region’s 496 total auctions as of 28 August. This is up from around 20% over the previous three quarters.

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The increase has been driven by a growing number of new carve-out launches, with July and August seeing a notable uptick in auction processes involving parent companies divesting businesses and assets in APAC, despite the broader auction universe remaining relatively stable.

High profile transactions include Blue Owl-owned Stack Infrastructure’s sale of its APAC data centre portfolio, which is reportedly valued at up to USD 30bn and has attracted interest from at least seven prospective bidders. Another is Fuji Media’s potential JPY 1tn (USD 6.2bn) sale of Sankei Building in Japan, which has attracted 11 prospective bidders. Other closely watched sale processes include Delivery Hero’s sale of Woowa Brothers and Starbucks’ Japan.

From foreign exits to domestic auctions

Australasia remains the most active market for corporate carve-outs in APAC, accounting for roughly one-third of the region’s pipeline by value. The market continues to generate fresh opportunities, with 12 of the 37 new carve-out processes launched since the beginning of July originating in Australia and New Zealand. Unsurprisingly, energy and natural resources are particularly prominent, with Australia accounting for 41% of the region’s carve-out activity in the sectors.

Japan and South Korea represent the next largest pools of opportunities, with most assets being brought to market by domestic corporates as companies continue to streamline operations and recycle capital. The two markets together account for more than half of APAC’s industrials carve-out pipeline.

China presents a different profile of carve out with almost all such situations involving foreign vendors and the technology sector featuring prominently. In early August, SK Hynix was reported to be evaluating a sale of its Chongqing packaging facility, which could be worth as much as USD 3bn. Other foreign groups exploring exits include Amkor Technology, Unity Software and A.O. Smith.

The prevalence of overseas sellers is reflected across the broader regional pipeline. US-headquartered corporates account for more than one-third of carve-out processes involving a non-APAC vendor, underlining the extent to which US companies are reshaping their exposure to the region.

Across APAC, nearly 70% of carve-out opportunities fall into the large-cap category, broadly consistent with the active auctions universe, where 63% of processes involve larger assets. Large-cap activity is being driven almost equally by domestic and overseas parents, with local owners accounting for 45% of opportunities and non-APAC owners 42%, while APAC-headquartered regional owners represent just 13% of the pipeline.