Japan's Aspirant announces third exit in three weeks
Aspirant Group has sold Japan’s only offshore drilling contractor, Japan Drilling (JDC), to JX Nippon Oil Exploration Corporation for an undisclosed sum, marking its third exit in as many weeks.
The other exits include agreements to sell electro-mechanical equipment maker Midori Precisions to Nidec Copal Electronics and electronics industry materials business FCM to Matsuo Industries. Terms were not disclosed for the three deals.
Aspirant acquired JDC, a specialist in offshore oil and gas, in 2019 for an undisclosed sum, taking 100% ownership across three vehicles. It reinvested an unspecified sum in 2021 as part of a business reorganisation after a long period of stagnation in the offshore drilling market.
Founded in 1968, JDC is active globally with a fleet currently comprised of five jack-up rigs, one semi-submersible rig, and one drillship. It is also involved in renewable energy, including offshore wind power installation.
There are subsidiaries in Japan, the US, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. Following the 2019 reorganisation, the Panama business was dissolved, and a Malaysian joint venture was liquidated. Clients have included the likes of Texaco, Conoco Philips, Total, Shell, and Mobil.
Business development during Aspirant’s holding period included an expansion into carbon capture and storage (CCS), whereby JDC drills wells to inject and store C02 underground. This is an area of special interest for Eneos, the parent company of JX Nippon.
Aspirant built up a 100% position in FCM across two investments in November and December 2018 that were worth about USD 36m combined. FCM is active metal plating and chemical processing of materials used in electrical devices, as well as wiring and electrical conductors and power cables.
Value creation during the holding period included building out management, improving profitability by focusing on more profitable areas, and supporting growth through capital investment and R&D in new processing technologies.
Aspirant acquired 100% of Midori in December 2019. The company specialises in potentiometers, a kind of variable power resistor used in electronic appliances. Light dimmers and volume controls on audio equipment are common applications.
Aspirant was established in 2012 by Akitoshi Nakamura and Akira Kawamoto, who serve as CEO and senior partner, respectively. The firm closed its third fund at the hard cap of JPY 50bn in 2019. It represented a near 100% size increase on the previous vintage.
Aspirant focuses on succession, corporate carve-out and turnaround opportunities, primarily in business services, industrial technology, and consumer. Targets have enterprise valuations between 3bn and JPY 30bn (USD 23m to USD 227m), writing equity checks of up to JPY 10bn, including co-investment.
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