Kekst CNC handled Sony Financial Holdings' return to Sony Corp full ownership this month, 13 years after an initial public offering of 35 percent of its shares.

Sony had owned a 65 percent stake in SFH and paid $3.7B for the outstanding shares of the company, which is a major player in Japan's banking and insurance markets.

CEO Kenichiro Yoshida told investors that during the current climate of COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical risks, the financial services business provides a stable business platform in Japan.

The Wall Street Journal reported that SFH generated from 15 to 25 percent of Sony's operating profit during recent years.

SFH said the deal will enable it to "leverage Sony’s R&D functions, artificial intelligence technologies and brand power more than ever, to promote and accelerate the development of new products and new services.”

The Kekst CNC SFH team includes Tokyo staffers Jochen Legewie, partner/head of Asia; Marika Otani, senior consultant; Al Saito, consultant; and Marika Kishimoto, senior associate as well as  Hong Kong's Daniel Del Re, partner; and Nicole Liu, consultant; and New York partners Mark Semer and Kimberly Kriger.

Publicis Groupe owns Kekst CNC.