Japan's warming up to buyouts?

To unwind its $45 billion in federal loans, Citigroup (C) has been aggressively selling off non-core assets. For example, the company sold its Japanese brokerage -- Nikko Cordial Securities -- and is even planning to take its Primerica unit public.

The dealmaking has continued. This week, Citigroup has agreed to sell its Bellsystem24 -- a major call center operator -- for $1 billion to Bain Capital LLC. All in all, it's a small deal. But every dollar counts, right?

This deal also highlights another trend; that is, the Japanese market is getting more amenable to buyouts, which is certainly a big shift. After all, Japan tries to avoid huge job losses. Yet, this can make it more difficult to streamline companies.

In fact, the Bellsystem24 transaction was able to get financing from a syndicate of Japanese financial institutions that include Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. No doubt, this is a sign that key players in Japan are willing to make some changes when it comes to buyouts.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook.