Blackstone adds ex-government advisor to its Japan ranks

He will contribute to the private equity firm’s thinking on Japan’s economic climate as well as its investment and fundraising activities, according to a statement. Hasegawa was previously a senior advisor at Boston Consulting Group, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s graduate school of public policy, and an official in the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry.

“Eiichi Hasegawa brings to Blackstone a wealth of experience and insights into Japan’s business and political landscape. His extensive networks will add significant value to building out our efforts, communicating with our LPs, and contributing to our portfolio company operations,” said Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone.

Schwarzman noted that the firm had enjoyed a record-breaking year in Japan with landmark deals across real estate and private equity, as well as the expansion of its private wealth solutions business.

Blackstone has been active in Japan for more than three decades and opened its Tokyo office in 2007. In 2020, the team invested more than $7.7 billion across real estate and private equity. It completed Japan’s largest-ever real estate deal – buying back a portfolio of assets it sold to China’s Anbang Insurance Group three years earlier – and the country’s biggest private equity buyout since 2017.

The PE deal involved the purchase of a portfolio of over-the-counter medicines and health products from Takeda Pharmaceutical for JPY242 billion ($2.3 billion). It was Blackstone’s second Japan buyout since establishing a country team in 2017 and the firm's first corporate carve-out.

Blackstone closed its first dedicated Asia private equity fund on $2.3 billion in 2019, having previously invested in the country through its global vehicles. The firm said in January – prior to the global escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic – that it would launch a second fund in 2020. Reuters reported in November that a target of $5 billion had been set for Fund II.

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• Topics
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