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February 21, 2025
 

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Lisa Du
The scramble to take Fuji Soft private is rooted in the value of the software company’s trove of human resources and real estate.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2025
KKR wins control of $4.4 billion Fuji Soft after Bain clash
KKR aims to acquire the remaining shares in the software company through a squeeze-out process.
Bain Capital said in a statement on Monday that it won’t implement a tender offer for Fuji Soft after deciding not to increase the price.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 17, 2025
Bain ends tussle with KKR for Fuji Soft by giving up bid
The public battle underscored how quickly the private equity landscape has been changing in Japan.
While Fuji Media Holdings is known for its iconic sphere-and-lattice headquarters in the Odaiba district near Tokyo Bay, it also owns office buildings, condominiums, hotels, nursing homes, logistic facilities, resorts and even two aquariums.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025
Fuji Media’s crisis entices investors betting on changes
It may come as a surprise that Fuji Media’s shares have surged 45% this year, making it the best-performing stock on the benchmark Topix index.
The Hyatt Regency hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 3, 2025
KKR and Gaw look to sell Tokyo Hyatt Regency for over ¥100 billion
The two investment firms bought the hotel in the Shinjuku area for an estimated ¥60 billion less than two years ago.
Brookfield Asset Management has bought a stake in Gajoen, a mixed-use luxury complex in Tokyo, and plans to ramp up real estate investments in Japan.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2025
Brookfield seeks to buy more property in Japan after $1.6 billion in deals
There has been a trend of increased foreign investor activity in Japanese real estate in recent years, buoyed by the weak yen and cheap financing.
The number of new units for sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area fell 14.4% last year to a record low.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025
Tokyo apartment prices retreat in 2024 as market calms
The decrease — the first in six years — came after prices rose nearly 30% to a record high in 2023 when several luxury condos went up for sale.
Firms in Japan are becoming more proactive to fend off global rivals and activist investors showing renewed interest in the country after decades of stagnant growth.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2025
Japan’s ¥36.4 trillion M&A boom expected to grow as activist investors circle
Firms are becoming more proactive to fend off global rivals and activist investors showing renewed interest in the country after decades of stagnant growth.
Bain Capital said it had "strong concerns” about Fuji Soft’s process to go private, and decided to proceed with its bid to buy shares of the software company without the support of the its board.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024
Bain to make $4.2 billion hostile bid for Fuji Soft against KKR
Shares of Fuji Soft rose 1.1% to ¥9,756 on Wednesday morning in Tokyo.
People walk toward a beach in Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024
Blackstone buys Ritz-Carlton Okinawa as Japan tourism booms
The transaction will include the Kanehide Kise Beach Palace and money to be spent on renovations, sources say.
Bain Capital plans to pay ¥9,600 a share for Fuji Soft, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2024
Bain raises offer for Fuji Soft in $4.3 billion contest with KKR
The Boston-based investment firm plans to pay ¥9,600 a share for Fuji Soft, it said in a statement.
Elliott Investment Management's stake in Tokyo Gas is centered around getting the utility to sell off its real estate holdings, including Shinjuku Park Tower, which houses the Park Hyatt Hotel Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024
Real estate worth ¥25 trillion puts Japan companies in spotlight
The hidden value of property on corporate balance sheets is a theme behind some of the biggest activist campaigns and mergers and acquisitions in Japan.
The private equity landscape is rapidly changing in Japan, where more than $12 billion in such transactions have been announced this year, after reaching a record in 2023.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 22, 2024
KKR-Bain brawl worth $4 billion highlights Japan private equity boom
The saga shows how fast the private equity landscape is changing in Japan, where more than $12 billion in such transactions have been announced this year.
Nissan Motor slashed its earnings outlook earlier this month and said it would cut 9,000 jobs and a fifth of its manufacturing capacity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024
Hedge fund Effissimo stirs speculation with its stake in Nissan Motor
News of the investment sent Nissan’s shares soaring 13% on Nov. 12.
A lobby lounge of a luxury hotel inside Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 20, 2024
Blackstone nears $2.6 billion deal to buy Seibu’s Tokyo complex
Any sale around that amount would make it one of the most expensive single real estate transactions in Japan.
A standard Chocozap location is small and unmanned, which has made it easy for Rizap to add locations amid a chronic labor shortage.
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2024
Gyms in Japan offer laundry, karaoke and hair-removal machines
Chocozap's oddball gyms were created as an experiment during the coronavirus pandemic.
Washing stations at a hot spring bath at Hoshinoya Tokyo, operated by Hoshino Resorts, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2024
Luxury Japan hot springs brand to open first U.S. location in New York state
The president of Hoshino Resorts had made it his personal goal to bring Japanese hot spring resorts to North America.
A Tokyo Star Bank branch in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2024
Tiny Japan bank looks to grow by lending to offshore homebuyers
Japan’s weak yen and low interest rates have drawn overseas interest in Japanese property and boosted prices.
A Canadian retailer's bid to buy the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores follows the introduction last year of government guidelines on mergers and acquisitions instructing companies to seriously consider takeover offers.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Aug 27, 2024
Seven & I takeover proposal tests Japan’s evolving investor-friendly stance
The proposed purchase of the convenience store operator follows government guidelines instructing companies to seriously consider takeover offers.
As investors look for opportunities in the new environment created by the Bank of Japan and the resulting market turmoil, there is broad consensus that they will have to reevaluate what they thought they knew about the country.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 7, 2024
Japan morphs into the center of worry for global investors
In less than a week, Japan has completely upended the world’s expectations for its markets and economy.
Japan's personal mortgages are set to rise for the first time in a generation following the Bank of Japan's rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 1, 2024
Japan’s ultralow mortgages to see first increase in 17 years
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group said it plans to increase the short-term prime rate for the first time in 17 years in September.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
IPhone parts maker Murata eyes supply chain shift toward India
Murata Manufacturing President Norio Nakajima
Monthly number of visitors to Japan hit record high in January
A visitor feeds the deer at Nara Park in Nara on Jan. 27. The monthly number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high in January.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
Arsenal defender Tomiyasu undergoes knee surgery
Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu celebrates scoring against Everton on May 19, 2024.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).
Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test
One-third of elementary school students in Japan do not like learning English, according to a 2021 poll, an 8% rise since 2013. The pressure of taking proficiency tests is eroding children's engagement with studying English and its benefits.

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