General Atlantic purchases a $96M minority stake in Japanese HR software unicorn SmartHR, marking the PE firm's first growth equity investment in Japan
General Atlantic completed its first growth equity investment in Japan and plans to do more, citing an increase in entrepreneurship …
NEC to buy US-listed CSG, a SaaS provider of customer care and billing services for telcos and other companies, for ~$2.9B in a deal expected to close in 2026
Japan's NEC Corp. is buying CSG Systems International Inc., a US supplier of customer care and billing services for telecom companies …
Sources: the $550B US-Japan investment framework, central to the trade agreement, was heavily influenced by Masayoshi Son, with the Stargate Project tied to it
Akira Yamashita / Nikkei Asia :
EQT agrees to sell Japanese automotive electronics manufacturer Pioneer for $1.1B to CarUX, a unit of Taiwan-listed Innolux specializing in smart cockpit tech
EQT AB agreed to sell Pioneer Corp. for $1.1 billion, marking the biggest exit in Japan for the Swedish buyout firm that sees Japan …
Sources: SoftBank's Masayoshi Son pitched a joint US-Japan sovereign fund to top DC and Tokyo officials to back large tech and infrastructure projects in the US
Washington and Tokyo discuss possibility of fund that would make large-scale US tech and infrastructure investments
Japan's NTT, which owns 57.7% of IT services provider and data center operator NTT Data, launches a $16.4B take-private tender offer to buy the remaining stake
Japanese telecoms firm Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (9432.T) announced plans on Thursday to take its subsidiary NTT Data …
UK-based high-end fashion marketplace Lyst agrees to a $154M acquisition by Japan-based fashion and e-commerce company Zozo; Lyst was valued at ~$700M in 2021
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch :
Sony buys ~$320M of shares in Japanese media powerhouse Kadokawa, which owns FromSoftware, taking its stake to ~10% and becoming Kadokawa's top shareholder
for now Sal Romano / Gematsu : Sony Group Corporation and Kadokawa Corporation to form strategic capital and business alliance Jordan Middler / Video Games Chronicle : Sony is now Kadokawa's largest s...
Diplomats and others fear a rift between SoftBank and Naver over the ownership of messaging app Line could put stress on ties between Japan and South Korea
SoftBank and Naver helped bridge geopolitical relations with a joint venture to own the operator of the messaging app Line, but now the partnership is fraying.
Blackstone plans to acquire Japanese digital romance comic provider Infocom in a $1.7B deal, in its biggest private equity transaction in Japan to date
Lisa Du / Bloomberg :