Japan Private Equity Deals Head for Record Year

Take-private deals in Japan are on track to hit a record high this year, surpassing the $40.3 billion posted in 2023, as companies yield to pressure to boost investor returns, Reuters reporters Anton Bridge and Miho Uranaka wrote.

EQT’s $2.7 billion bid for elevator-maker Fujitec was one of the notable transactions announced in the past month. (Photo: Fujitec)

Japanese firms once feared private equity as hagetaka (“vultures”). But growing pressure from activist investors and the Tokyo Stock Exchange to reform capital management and unwind cross-shareholdings has made companies increasingly open to buyouts and delisting.

Private equity players say interest in Japan from global backers is unprecedented, with the surge in deals defying a global slowdown in buyout activity.

As of August 20, private equity deals in Japan totaled $27.6 billion—nearly triple the $9.5 billion recorded in the same period of 2024, according to Dealogic data.

Notable transactions announced in the past month include Blackstone’s $3.5 billion offer for engineering staffing firm TechnoPro and EQT’s $2.7 billion bid for elevator-maker Fujitec.

“We have an extremely rich pipeline of deals,” said Kazuhiro Yamada, managing director at Carlyle Japan. “Of the more than 300 opportunities Carlyle Japan is seeing across its three core sectors, around 30 have a chance of closing in the next 12 to 18 months.”