Firms & Funds

TPG spinoff NSSK launches $500 mln debut fund in Japan

-
A Shinto shrine gate, with the moon behind it, is seen amidst Japan's largest lake, Lake Biwa, in Takashima, Shiga prefecture in western Japan April 6, 2012. Prefectures like Shiga, which have never been courted by the nuclear industry but lie close enough to reactors to be wary of them, are emerging as a serious complication for government and industry efforts to get nuclear power running again. Picture taken April 6, 2012. To match Analysis JAPAN-NUCLEAR/SHIGA REUTERS/Toru Hanai (JAPAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY DISASTER) - RTR30NZ7
  • NSSK headed up by Jun Tsusaka, TPG veteran
  • Two other ex-TPG execs on senior NSSK  team
  • Firm closed two deals in less than a yea

Tokyo-based NSSK, founded by TPG veterans, is preparing a formal fundraising effort for a $500 million debut fund later this year, according to a source.

NSSK, which stands for Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko, is led by Jun Tsusaka, its founding member and managing partner. It invests in Japan and other countries in Asia. Tsusaka, who also holds the titles of CEO and CIO at NSSK, worked for several years for TPG in Japan. He formally launched NSSK last year. It isn’t clear when he left TPG.

Tsusaka worked under the title of managing director and representative of TPG Japan and helped the firm with a 2008 deal for 40 percent of financial services firm NIS Group Co for $288 million, according to prepared statement at the time.

NSSK’s roster also includes Akio Ishida, partner, vice chairman and founding member. He formerly worked as CEO of Joint Corp and was a vice chairman of TPG Japan and Merrill Lynch Japan. Joint Corp is still listed as a portfolio company on TPG’s website.

NSSK lists two other founding members: Kazuaki Tokuyama, partner, and a former principal at TPG, and Kenju Watanabe, partner and chief legal officer, and a former M&A partner at Skadden Arps and Paul Hastings.

In a fresh deal over the summer, NSSK paid an undisclosed amount forMeotoiwa Paradise Co Ltd, a shopping and entertainment arcade development near the Futami Sea Paradise aquarium. Late last year, NSSK inked its first deal by buying a 70 percent of U.S. Mart, an owner of indoor playgrounds in Japan that plans to expand in Asia.

Also over the summer, NSSK named Yasuhiko Matsunaga, president of the venture capital arm of Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, as senior advisor. It also hired Shinji Yamada as regional operations leader. Yamada is also CEO of Intelligence Advisory Ltd.

Separately, Ben Gray, TPG Capital’s co-head in Asia, plans to leave the firm in 2017, once TPG Asia VI is invested, a company spokesperson told Buyouts in August. The firm raised $3.3 billion for Fund VI, below its $4 billion target.

A spokesperson for TPG did not return a request for comment on NSSK. It’s not clear if the firm named a replacement for Tsusaka in Japan.

Action Item: See the NSSK contact page here: http://bit.ly/1Fm9oGa