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, JD.com Inc and Baidu.
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.
Reuters
