Unison launches Japan hospital roll-up platform

This is the second of two platforms established by the private equity firm – the first focuses on pharmacies – and staffed by dedicated teams. Business development and value creation initiatives fall within the purview of those executives, who are answerable to the fund like any other portfolio company management team and receive resources from it.

The Community Healthcare Coordination Platform (CHCP) is intended to help small and medium-sized healthcare providers scale up to improve service scope and quality. Its debut member is Douai Group, which runs Kumagaya Surgical Hospital in Saitama prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo area. In addition to financing, Unison will provide support in areas such as operations and human resources.

“Unison will redefine the roles of small, community-based hospitals according to the local healthcare needs and assist them in coordinating medical care and long-term care and in introducing information technology,” according to a statement. The private equity firm is said to be planning to invest in approximately 30 hospitals by 2024.

Unison added that annual medical and long-term care expenditure in Japan currently amounts to about JPY50 trillion, and this figure is likely to grow as the country’s population ages. By 2050, the over-60 age block will account for almost 40% of the population. About two million Japanese are now turning 70 every year. That’s almost double the number of people entering the official workforce by turning 18. These changes underpin PE investment theses in areas such as healthcare, aged care, and even pet care.

The operational upgrade aspect of CHCP will be bolstered by input from local venture capital firm Globis Capital Partners, which has entered into a business alliance with Unison. While CHCP will focus on the introduction of better management practices and leveraging synergies within the group, Globis will contribute to performance improvement through the application of new technologies.

The central tenet of Unison’s platform model is that these businesses function – and are perceived to function – as industry insiders rather than financial investors. It is hoped that this will facilitate deal sourcing and then make it easier to negotiate with a founder once a target has been identified.

“It is easier for corporate sellers to come and talk to us because we don’t look and smell like financial guys, which means we have a much better view of where the opportunities might be,” Tatsuo Kawasaki, a partner at Unison, told AVCJ in June. “Will there be more mid-market carve-outs? If you are relying on advisors to bring you deals, there’s no telling how it will work out. But if you go out there and approach companies, insider to insider, you see things differently.”

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Healthcare
• Buyouts
• Japan
• Unison Capital