PAG names Japan PE co-heads

Ito was most recently head of investment banking and capital markets at Credit Suisse and before that worked for SMBC Nikko Securities and Nomura Securities. He also has 15 years’ experience at Lehman Brothers, having risen to managing director and head of investment banking for Japan.

Tamagawa was recently a managing director and investment committee member at Marunouchi Capital, a private equity firm set up by Mitsubishi Corporation. He began his career in Mitsubishi’s crude oil import business and was also one of the first employees at private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings.

The appointments come as PAG doubles down on Japan, which the firm describes as one of the most attractive markets in Asia for private equity. It expects to deploy several billion dollars in Japanese companies in the coming years, according to a statement.

PAG has been active in the country since 1997 when its real estate division was established under the name Secured Capital. Ito and Tamagawa will be based in the existing Tokyo office.

Current private equity investments in the country include safety equipment manufacturer Joyson Safety Systems, formerly known as Takata. Joyson was jointly acquired alongside auto parts maker Key Safety Systems in a $1.6 billion deal in 2018. A year earlier, PAG completed a successful exit from Universal Studios Japan, having backed the theme park operator via its first fund in 2013.

PAG currently has about $40 billion in assets under management. The firm closed its third pan-Asian buyout-focused private equity fund in 2018 at the hard cap of $6 billion. Funds I and II closed at $2.5 billion in 2012 and $3.6 billion in 2016, respectively. There are also separate strategies for real estate and debt.

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