J-Star exits Japan nursing care provider
J-Star has exited dementia-focused nursing care provider Platia to Bain Capital-owned counterpart Nichii Gakkan for an undisclosed sum.
It also represents an exit for Pacific Advisors, a US-based healthcare specialist. J-Star acquired a 100% stake in Platia in 2016 via its second flagship fund, which targeted deal sizes of up to JPY 1bn (USD 8.5m). Pacific subsequently bought in via its Pacific Minato II and Midwest Minato funds.
Nichii Gakkan is acquiring 100% of Platia and will operate it henceforth as a subsidiary. The transaction is expected to close within the month.
Bain acquired Nichii Gakkan in a USD 1.2bn transaction in 2020, then listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It committed JPY27 billion in equity and secured a further JPY98.6 billion in debt financing.
Osaka-based Platia was set up in 2003 with a single nursing home, two daycare centres, and two offices for coordinating home visits by nurses. It has since grown the number of facilities to 25, including 20 nursing homes, according to a filing.
Platia is an early investment in an aggressive nursing care industry consolidation strategy by J-Star. The company bolted on at least two competitors during the private equity firm’s holding period, including Katsura Shoji and Luminous.
Platia was also part of a platform called Japan Hospice Holdings, which J-Star created through a series of acquisitions and ushered to a JPY 1.9bn Tokyo IPO in 2019. Other businesses added to the platform helped spread geographic coverage, including Kairos in the Kanagawa region, Nagoya-based Nurse Call, and Tokyo’s Live Cross.
Nursing care is a logical target category for Japanese private equity in that, in addition to being highly fragmented, it represents the country’s wealthiest demographic and one of the few that is still growing. The over-60 age block is projected to reach 40% of the population in the next 30 years.
J-Star has also targeted the ageing trend with investments in medical insurer Nihon Hoken Service, itself a bolt-on generalist insurer Hunel FEA, and drugstore chain Aisei Pharmacy, which was privatised in 2016 for JPY 11.4bn in J-Star’s first-ever tender offer. Aisei was exited to company management less than two years later.
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