Japan
Toho Bank, Yamada Business Consulting establish $10m VC fund
Japan's Fukushima-headquartered Toho Bank has established a JPY1 billion ($10 million) venture capital fund, along with Tokyo-based Yamada Business Consulting, to provide early-stage capital to Japanese businesses.
J-Star, supply chain fund back Tokai Trim
Japanese mid-cap buyout firm J-Star has joined the Supply Chain Support Fund (SCSF) - a vehicle backed Japan Auto Parts Industries Association and Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) - in investing around JPY1-2billion ($10-20 million) in auto parts firm...
Fidelity Japan leads $3m round for e-ticketing start-up PeaTiX
Fidelity Japan has led a $3 million Series A round for Japanese e-ticketing startup PeaTiX. The company provides an online platform for event organizers, allowing them to manage ticket sales.
Samurai Incubate Fund invests in Japanese child monitor app
Samurai Incubate Fund has backed Japanese mobile app developer Unirings - the company behind child monitoring app Mimamoru. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
INCJ invests in $1.7m in Japanese tech firm Exvision
The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has invested JPY180 million ($1.7 million) in Exvision, a company which develops high-speed image processing technology.
Japanese software testing service in $4m VC round
Shift, a Japanese software testing service, has raised JPY400 million ($4 million) from VC investors Simplex Holdings and Movida Capital as well as strategic investor Bit-isle, a cloud data service provider.
DBJ, SMBC, Mitsubishi UFJ back Japan's Adinnovation
The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) , SMBC Ventures and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital have together invested JPY160 million ($1.5 million) in marketing specialist Adinnovation.
Japan's Chiyoda acquires PE-backed energy consultancy
Chiyoda Corp, a Japanese engineering contractor, has acquired a majority stake in Scottish energy consultancy business Xodus Group from UK private equity backer Simmons Parallel Private and Dutch investor Sunrise Xodus. Financial details were not disclosed....
Nissay Capital invests $2m in display component maker Cerebrex
Nissay Capital has invested JPY250 million ($2.4 million) in Cerebrex, a semiconductor start-up that produces components for liquid crystal displays.
KDDI Fund participates in $2m round for Japanese game developer
KDDI Open Innovation Fund has joined CyberAgent Ventures and Japanese entertainment company FuRyu in committing a total JPY230 million ($2.2 million) to Japanese game developer Mutations Studio.
Japan, Canada pension fund consortium makes first investment
A consortium of Canada's Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Scheme (OMERS) and a group of Japanese pension funds led by Mistubishi Corp. has made its first investment in Midland Cogeneration Venture (MCV), a gas power plant in the US. The details...
Regional update: A time to invest?
Is now the time to invest in Asia? This is a question that keeps popping up in my conversations with limited partners. Obviously, the simple answer can always be “yes.” That is if these LPs are able to locate and gain access to the fund managers that...
Sun Capital exits US-based ASB to Japan's Lixil
Sun Capital Partners has exited its stake in American Standard Brands (ASB), a US maker of bathroom and kitchen fixtures, to Japanese toilet manufacturer Lixil Corp. for $542 million. The deal values the 138 year-old firm at around $342 million and includes...
Untapped Japan VC market targets mobile space - AVCJ Japan
Japanese venture capital is still being overlooked by LPs despite the untapped potential of Asia's fastest growing mobile internet space, industry participants told the AVCJ Japan Forum.
Governance issues could undermine Japan's economic reforms - AVCJ Forum
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic reforms have provided a boost for Japanese private equity but issues surrounding corporate governance continue to be a barrier to opportunities, industry participants told the AVCJ Japan Forum.
Success of Abenomics hinges on deregulation – Orix
The success of economic reforms introduced by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ultimately depend on his ability to deliver on structural reform, the third of his “three arrows” policy, according to Yoshihiko Miyauchi, CEO of Orix Corp. This observation...
Cerberus fails in challenge to Seibu board
Cerberus Capital Management failed to its attempt to assert more control over the management of railway and property group Seibu Holdings, as shareholders voted down the PE firm's plan to secure more board seats.
Japan's INCJ in cooperative talks with private equity
The government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has been in discussions with domestic and foreign private equity firms over joint investment strategies.
J-Star promotes Satoru Arakawa to partner
Japanese mid-cap buyout firm J-Star has promoted Satoru Arakawa to the position of partner.
Japanese, Chinese VCs provide $4.4m round for social site Muzy
The Silicon Valley-based venture capital arm of Japanese telecoms giant NTT Docomo, Docomo Capital, and Recruit Strategic Partners - the corporate VC arm of Japanese internet company Recruit Holdings - have teamed up with Chinese entrepreneurs to invest...
Japan divestments still strong despite 'double-edged sword' of Abenomics
Corporate divestments continue to be a strong source of buyout deal flow in Japan, regardless of the impact of recently introduced economic reforms, according to Richard Folsom, co-founder and CEO of domestic GP Advantage Partners.
Q&A: Advantage Partners' Richard Folsom
Advantage Partners has experienced more than its fair share of Japan's highs and lows. Now as the country embarks on a new economic experiment, co-founder and CEO Richard Folsom shares his views on the state of PE
Shogun diplomacy: Corporate management in Japan
History shows that Japan's corporate elites rarely take kindly to private equity knocking down their door. How can the outside investor best woo potential partners?
All smiles in Tokyo?
The timing of last year's AVCJ Japan Forum was perhaps fortuitous - a matter of days before the event Unison Capital announced that it agreed to sell sushi chain Akindo Sushiro to Permira for $1 billion.