Japanese PE Funds Cut Back

Japan’s Unison Capital cut the size of one of the largest private equity funds in Japan by around a quarter to 107 billion yen ($1.4 billion) in October due to limited opportunities for new deals, wrote Reuters. Some private equity firms have scaled back their operations in Japan in the aftermath of the financial crisis sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Reuters – Japan’s Unison Capital cut the size of one of the largest private equity funds in Japan by around a quarter to 107 billion yen ($1.4 billion) in October due to limited opportunities for new deals, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Some private equity firms have scaled back their operations in Japan in the aftermath of the financial crisis sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Companies in the country are typically slow to divest assets and they have access to cheap cash from banks for business opportunities.

The two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Unison expected the market to remain slow. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.

The move to reduce its third fund from 140 billion yen came despite an announcement last month that Unison would buy Asahi Tec, a maker of iron castings used in cars, from Belgian private equity investor RHJ International .

It also bought shoe repair company Minit Asia Pacific Co from CVC Capital Asia in November.

Global buyout firm Carlyle Group cut the size of its fund for Japan to 165.6 billion yen in the wake of the financial crisis from 215.6 billion yen.

Advent International about a year ago closed its office in Japan and wound up a 60 billion yen fund without making any investments.

The investment period for Unison’s fund, started in 2009, ends in August 2014.

($1 = 76.8000 Japanese yen) (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Joseph Radford)