Hillhouse Investment hires former Bain partner for Japan expansion, sources say

Daiwa Securities

04/12/2024 05:01

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      Hillhouse plans to build a team of 20 people in Japan -
source  
    

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      Firm first invested in Japan as early as 2009 - co website
    

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      Co's expansion plans come as dealmaking surges in Japan
    

  
    By Julie Zhu and Miho Uranaka
       HONG KONG/TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Hillhouse Investment
has appointed Tomohiro Kikuta, a former partner at Bain Capital,
to spearhead its expansion efforts in Japan amid a significant
rise in deal-making activities, two people with knowledge of the
matter said. 
    Kikuta is expected to join the investment firm as the head
of its Japan operations in the coming months, the sources said,
requesting anonymity as they were not authorsied to speak to the
media. 
    He will be responsible for building a local team, which is
expected to consist of around 20 people, through a combination
of new hires and relocations from other offices, one of the
sources said.
    Kikuta, a former partner on Bain Capital's Asia Pacific
private equity team, has been with the firm since 2017.
    Hillhouse, which currently operates out of a shared office
in Tokyo, is also planning to establish its own office in the
first half of next year, the source said.
    Bain Capital and Hillhouse declined to comment. Kikuta did
not immediately respond to Reuters request for a comment. 
    Founded in 2005 by China-born dealmaker Zhang Lei with seed
funding from a Yale University endowment, Hillhouse is known for
early investments in Chinese tech giants such as Tencent
Holdings  0700.HK , JD.com Inc  9618.HK  and Baidu  9888.HK . 
    The firm, traditionally known for its hedge fund and private
equity investments, has recently expanded into real estate and
established a private credit team. 
    Hillhouse's decision to expand in Japan comes in response to
a surge in deal-making activity in the country over the past few
years, driven by corporate governance reforms and a weak yen,
both of which have enhanced the attractiveness of acquisition
opportunities in Japan.
        Japan became the largest market for private equity deals
in the Asia-Pacific last year, accounting for 30% of the
region's total deal value, largely driven by take-private deals,
according to a report by consultancy Bain & Co. 
        Global investment firms including Carlyle and Warburg
Pincus are looking to beef up headcount in Japan to cope with
increasing dealflow. Regional peer FountainVest Partners also
entered Japan earlier this year.
        Hillhouse started making investments in Japan as early
as 2009, according to the company website.
    The company recently launched a tender offer to acquire
Tokyo-listed Samty Holdings for 169 billion yen ($1.13 billion),
in partnership with its real estate platform, Rava Partners.
Following the deal, Samty's largest shareholder, Daiwa
Securities Group, and Daiwa PI Partners will retain their stake
and jointly own the company with Hillhouse.
        
    ($1 = 149.9700 yen)
    
    

 (Reporting by Julie Zhu and Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Miho
Uranaka in Tokyo; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
 ((julie.zhu1@thomsonreuters.com;))