Carlyle closes ¥430bn Japan buyout fund

The global private equity firm's fifth Japanese buyout fund is targeting sectors including technology, media, telecoms, retail and healthcare, and is 70% larger than its previous fund.

May 22, 2024

Global investment firm Carlyle has closed its fifth Japanese buyout fund, Carlyle Japan Partners V (CJP V) at ¥430 billion (around $2.8 billion). 

This amount is the largest fundraise for a buyout strategy focused on the Japanese market, according to data from Preqin. The figure is inclusive of commitments from the general partner and its affiliates, with CJP V hitting "the hard cap" on limited partner commitments, a May 21 media release said.

Carlyle said that CJP V received strong demand from a combination of domestic and global investors, and raised "nearly 70%" more than the size of its predecessor fund, Carlyle Japan Partners IV (CJP IV). CJP V will continue its strategy of investing in upper middle-market opportunities in Japan across the following sectors: technology, media and telecoms (TMT); consumer, retail and healthcare (CRH); and "general industries". The fund will focus on succession transactions, carve-outs and strategic take-privates, the release added.

Carlyle’s Japan buyout platform has invested more than ¥450 billion across approximately 40 private equity investments since 2000. CJP IV, a 2021 fund, has 12 investments to date, including recent deals including in Totoku, an electrical cable firm, business intelligence firm Uzabase, lamp manufacturer Iwasaki Electric and chemicals firm Seiko PMC. 

Kazuhiro Yamada and Takaomi Tomioka, co-heads of Carlyle Japan, said in the release: “It's an exciting time for private equity investors in the region. With our largest fund to date, we are well-positioned to continue to capture investment opportunities on behalf of our investors by working with founders and management teams who are looking for the right partner to help take their business to the next level.”

Harvey Schwartz, CEO of Carlyle, added, “For over 20 years, Carlyle has played a leading role in the growth and development of the Japanese private equity market by bringing our local expertise and significant global resources to create value in Japanese companies and deliver attractive returns for our investors. The success of this fundraise is a testament to the franchise our Japan team has built and the confidence our investors have in our ability to continue to deliver sustainable, long-term value.”

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