Japan
Jafco buys back $577m in shares from investors
Japanese venture capital firm Jafco has agreed to buy back JPY63.8 billion ($577.4 million) worth of shares from its major shareholders, including Nomura Holdings.
J-Star completes Japanese veterinary bolt-on
J-star has acquired Japanese veterinary chain VIS Corporation for an undisclosed amount in a bolt-on to existing portfolio company JVCC.
Korea's SK invests $334m in PE-backed e-Shang Redwood
Korean conglomerate SK Group has agreed to invest KRW372 billion ($334 million) in pan-Asian logistics player e-Shang Redwood (ESR), valuing the private equity-backed business at approximately $2.8 billion.
Japan's Marubeni buys beef supplier from US GP
Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corp. has acquired Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, a US-based supplier of beef and pork products, from Sun Capital Partners.
Bain to make partial exit from Japanese mushroom producer
Bain Capital Private Equity has agreed to sell a 49% in Yukiguni Maitake, a Japanese mushroom producer, to domestic food company Shinmei. The size of the transaction was not disclosed.
IoT in Asia: Things to come
A number of political factors have positioned Asia Pacific to be a global leader in internet-of-things development. Investors must now navigate an unwieldy field of technologies, markets and social drivers
J-Star exits Japanese document scanning business to Orix
Mid-market private equity firm J-Star has exited its entire holding in Japanese document scanning company Primagest to local financial services conglomerate Orix Corporation.
Baring Asia completes Joyful Honda exit, secures 45% IRR
Baring Private Equity Asia has completed its exit from Japanese home improvement center operator Joyful Honda – the first joint investment by the firm’s private equity and real estate funds – generating a gross IRR of around 45%.
Japan's Floadia closes $14m Series B
Floadia, a Japan-based company specializing in microchip memory technology, has closed a JPY1.6 billion ($14.1 million) Series B fund round from a number of Taiwanese, Japanese and US venture capital firms.
French VC joins $13m round for Japanese biopharma player
France-based venture capital firm Seventure Partners has joined a $13.1 million funding round for Japanese biopharmaceuticals development company Anaeropharma Science.
Japanese LPs: Building consensus
Japanese institutional investors are taking their time with decisions about launching alternative investment programs. Strong support from internal stakeholders is a key consideration
Western Digital, KKR resubmit bid for Toshiba memory unit
Western Digital and KKR have resubmitted an offer for Toshiba’s Nand flash memory business, despite the Japanese conglomerate last week naming a consortium featuring Bain Capital as the preferred bidder in the JPY2 trillion ($18 billion) deal.
Japanese LPs' PE programs slowed by internal resistance - AVCJ Forum
Japanese institutional investors are increasingly interested in private equity, but investment programs are often slow to get off the ground due to an innate aversion to risk among internal stakeholders.
Japan buyout investors must consider post-deal positioning - AVCJ Forum
Private equity deal flow is increasing in Japan’s middle market, but buyers should be mindful that their responsibilities to sellers stretch well into the post-investment period, industry participants told the AVCJ Japan Forum.
Japan's Softbank invests $100m in Cybereason
SoftBank Corp. has agreed to invest $100 million in a Series D funding round for Cybereason, a US-headquartered cybersecurity platform provider targeting expansion in Japan.
KKR hires Blackstone MD to lead Japan capital markets team
KKR has selected Go Yamashita, a former managing director with The Blackstone Group, to head the KKR Capital Markets (KCM) team in Japan.
Deal focus: Seven Dreamers makes laundry robot a reality
KKR co-founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts and Fosun International have joined a $22.8 million Series C round for Seven Dreamers, which will use the capital to accelerate production of its Laundroid
Bain, INCJ consortium named preferred bidder for Toshiba chip unit
Japanese conglomerate Toshiba has selected a consortium led by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and including Bain Capital as the preferred bidder in the sale of its Nand flash memory unit, Toshiba Memory Corporation (TMC).
CLSA Capital invests in Japan beauty contact lenses maker
CLSA Capital Partners (CLSA CP) has invested an undisclosed sum in El Dorado Group, a beauty contact lenses manufacturer based in Japan and Hong Kong.
Bolt-on acquisitions: Buying growth
Bolt-on acquisitions enable private equity firms to bring down the cost of investments through multiple arbitrage and leveraging synergies. But in a climate of heady valuations, are GPs thinking too big?
MBK completes exit from Japan's Komeda with 5x return - update
MBK Partners has sold the remainder of its stake in Japan-based coffee shop chain Komeda Holdings JPY24.3 billion ($217 million), securing a 5x return on the overall investment.
Nippon Mirai to sell Takasago stake back to NEC
Japanese GP Nippon Mirai Capital has agreed to sell its entire 51% stake in Takasago Machinery, an electronic equipment manufacturer, to its previous owner NEC Corporation for an undisclosed sum.
Bain continues to trim holding in Japan's Skylark
Bain Capital has made its second partial exit in three months from Japanese restaurant operator Skylark, receiving JPY41.6 billion ($373.6 million) and reducing its stake to approximately 15%.
Canadian AI player raises $102m Series A for Asia push
China’s Tencent Holdings and Korea’s Hanwha Investment have backed a $102 million Asian expansion drive by Canadian artificial intelligence developer Element AI. It is said to be the largest Series A round ever raised by an AI company.