• Business

    KKR holds first Asia board meeting in Tokyo, as Japan leads firm’s regional growth

    AnyFans Posted on

    KKR holds first Asia board meeting in Tokyo, as Japan leads firm's regional growth

    KKR’s two co-founders, George Roberts and Henry Kravis, as well as its co-CEOs Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, are among those present at the two-day board meeting, which commenced on Monday, the spokesperson told Reuters in an email.
    Sign up here.
    “We’ve been consistently investing in Japan for nearly two decades. It’s a core market for us – our largest in Asia today,” said the spokesperson.
    The meeting comes amid a dealmaking boom in Japan boosted by corporate governance reforms, still low interest rates and unprecedented investor interest.
    Private equity-backed deals totalled $29 billion for the first three quarters of 2025, up 150% year-on-year and the second highest in history for the Jan-Sep period, preliminary LSEG data showed.
    Japan, where KKR first entered in 2006, had grown into its largest market in Asia Pacific, accounting for 36%, or more than $20 billion, of the total fair value of its investments in the region, according to the firm’s public disclosures in February.
    KKR last week announced the acquisition of Japanese insurance distributor Hoken Minaoshi Hompo Group without disclosing financial details.
    The firm earlier this year won a prolonged and competitive bid against rival Bain Capital to take over software developer Fuji Soft for $4.1 billion.
    It has also teamed up with a state-backed fund to acquire medical gear maker Topcon for $2.3 billion.
    It sold a controlling stake in the Seiyu supermarket chain for $2.55 billion in March, making multiple times its original investment from the sale, according to public disclosures.
    Reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Saad Sayeed
    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
    Kane Wu covers M&A, private equity, venture capital and investment banks in Asia. She tracks the region’s most high-profile deals, fundraisings as well as investment trends amidst geopolitical, macroeconomic and regulatory changes. She was nominated for a SOPA Excellence in Business Reporting award for coverage of China regulatory crackdown in 2021. Prior to Reuters, she worked at the Wall Street Journal and also wrote about Asia’s loan market for Thomson Reuters Basis Point. She is based in Hong Kong.

    You Might Also Like