NIC buys Japan dental consultancy, Jafco exits
Japanese private equity firm Nippon Investment Corporation (NIC) has acquired 100% of local dental industry services provider Medical Support Consulting, facilitating an exit for Jafco.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Jafco incubated the business in 2018 as a business process outsourcing service for dental clinics via its fifth global venture and buyout fund. That fund closed on JPY 75bn in 2016.
Medical Support’s core services span the opening, management, and operation of dental clinics, including support with M&A and the implementation of new IT systems. It is also involved in workforce management reforms such as solving for chronic fatigue syndrome among dentists and dental hygienists, who are often required to work long hours.
The thesis is predicated on the idea that competition in Japan’s dental space is increasing and leading to more bankruptcies, despite population decline. This has coincided with longstanding challenges around personnel shortages and slowness to integrate digitised operations.
“The service offered by Medical Support Co is seen as an attractive growth market in the healthcare sector and will be further supported by NIC's funds and management advisory services,” DC Advisory, which advised Jafco on the latest transaction, said in a statement.
NIC was founded in 2017 by Soichi Yamaguchi and Hidetoshi Akisato, both formerly of Bain Capital, and Shuhei Yamashita, founder and chairman of Tokyo-listed logistics technology services provider CRE. It invests in mid-sized companies locally with a preference for consumer-oriented models and a view to driving growth with a hands-on management style.
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