FY2026 Kitakyushu City Business Succession / M&A Promotion Subsidy

①Overview: The FY2026 Kitakyushu City Business Succession / M&A Promotion Subsidy partially funds expenses incurred by SMEs in Kitakyushu City for business succession activities, promoting smooth business succession and contributing to SME maintenance and development. ②Eligible applicants: SMEs that meet all of: (1) headquarters and business location in Kitakyushu City, (2) continue to operate in the city after succession, (3) for stock companies, more than half of issued shares NOT held by non-SMEs, (4) no Kitakyushu City tax delinquency, (5) not organized crime / member, (6) no close relationship with organized crime, (7) not in adult-entertainment business, (8) not otherwise deemed unsuitable by the mayor. ③Eligible expenses & benefit content: Eligible projects are succession-purpose work outsourced to qualified professional firms: (1) succession plan formulation (family / employee / third-party succession), (2) M&A brokerage outsourcing (third-party succession). "Qualified professional firm" means tax/accounting/law firms, consulting firms, M&A intermediaries, or financial institutions registered under the SME Agency's M&A Support Organization Registration System. M&A means transactions that transfer business management rights to a third party for succession purposes (stock transfer, business transfer), excluding buyer-side transactions and capital-free business cooperation. ④Rate, ceiling, schedule, application pointers: 1/2 of eligible expenses, up to JPY 500,000 (rounded down to nearest JPY 1,000). Conditions: (1) project must complete (including settlement) by fiscal year end and outsourcing contract not yet signed at application, (2) business succession not yet completed / M&A final agreement not yet signed, (3) no identical subsidy from other agencies, (4) one application per business across all fiscal years. Reception starts 2026-05-01. For M&A projects, 3-year status reports required (until final agreement year if signed earlier).