Bain to acquire Japan's Macromill for $501m
Bain Capital is set to acquire Tokyo-listed Macromill, a Japanese online market research firm, after offering to buy all shares in the company for JPY51.4 billion ($501 million).
According to a regulatory filing, the Macromill board has endorsed Bain's offer to buy 65.4 million shares at JPY786 apiece - representing a 19% premium on the previous close of JPY663. Internet giant Yahoo Japan Corp. is currently the biggest shareholder with a 22% stake.
The Tokyo-based firm will be delisted once the tender offer is completed.
Macromill is a provider of internet research services with offices in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya and additional operations in China and Korea. The company claims to conduct over 20,000 research projects worldwide, for more than 5,000 clients every year.
According to its consolidated financial statement for fiscal year ended June 2013, Macromill reported net sales JPY17.1 million and profit of JPY8.3 million, compared to JPY14.2 million and JPY7.1 million, respectively, the previous year.
This will be the second-largest private equity buyout in Japan this year after KKR's $1.67 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in Panasonic healthcare. Other notable buyouts include MBK Partners' $484 million purchase of Komeda Coffee from Advantage Partners and Fortress Investment Group's $425 million acquisition of Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel.
Bain - which has $70 billion in assets under management globally - set up its Tokyo office back in 2006. The firm currently has a team of 30 investment professionals in Japan.
It has made seven investments in the country to date, including payment systems manufacturer MEI Conlux, video and audio equipment wholesaler D&M Holdings, telecommunications distributor Suntelephone, Jupiter Shop Channel, Domino's Pizza Japan, restaurant chain Skylark and call center operator Bellsystem24.
Of these, three have been exited: Suntelephone was sold to a strategic investor for $102 million last year, as was MEI Conlux for $820 million. Domino's Pizza Japan was partially exited to its Australian counterpart for $124 million in August.
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