Citi Names New Heads of M&A and Sponsor Coverage in Japan
Citi is reshaping its Japan investment banking leadership, naming new heads for M&A and sponsor coverage as the bank looks to strengthen its capabilities across domestic and cross-border transactions.
Citi has appointed Hajime Higuchi as head of mergers and acquisitions for its Japan investment banking business and Yoshinobu Agu as head of sponsor coverage for Japan, effective Oct. 1, the bank said Thursday.
Higuchi and Agu will report to Akira Kiyota and Taiji Nagasaka, co-heads of Japan investment banking. Higuchi will also report on a matrix basis to Colin Banfield, Citi’s head of Asia M&A.
Higuchi joins Citi from Nomura, where he most recently served as international head of M&A, a position he has held since 2020. He has also been a member of Nomura’s Global Investment Banking Executive Committee since 2013.
Higuchi has more than three decades of investment banking experience spanning Japan, Asia, Europe and the United States. According to Citi, he has advised on more than 250 domestic and cross-border transactions across a range of industries. Before joining Nomura, he held investment banking positions at J.P. Morgan Securities and Sanwa Bank.
Agu currently leads Citi’s Japan M&A business and will move into the sponsor coverage role, where he will oversee relationships with financial sponsors as well as infrastructure and real estate funds.
In his new position, Agu will lead coverage of financial sponsors and strategic investors, an area Citi identified as a strategic growth priority for its Japan investment banking franchise.
Agu has advised clients on domestic and cross-border M&A deals as well as equity and debt financings. He joined Citi’s predecessor firm in 1999 and has held senior client coverage roles across multiple sectors.
Support clients across Japan and internationally
“These appointments reflect our continued investment in our Japan Investment Banking franchise,” Kiyota, Citi’s co-head of Japan investment banking, said in a statement. “Hajime's global M&A experience and Yoshinobu's extensive client and transaction expertise further strengthen our ability to support clients across Japan and internationally.”
The appointments come as Citi continues to expand its investment banking capabilities in Japan, with the new leadership structure combining Higuchi’s international M&A experience with Agu’s longstanding client relationships and transaction expertise.
