MBK, Blocked from Acquiring Makino, to Acquire Japanese Lifestyle-Services Platform

【Financial News Tokyo = Reporter Hye-jin Seo】MBK Partners will acquire Sharing Technology, a Japanese lifestyle-services intermediary platform, for approximately ¥37 billion (about ₩322.6 billion), Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 9th. The plan is to combine the home-cleaning business of HITOWA, an existing Japanese elderly-care and caregiving investment of MBK Partners, with Sharing Technology’s online intermediary network.
According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun, MBK Partners will soon launch a tender offer (TOB) for Sharing Technology shares. If the TOB succeeds, Sharing Technology will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).
Sharing Technology connects users with businesses that provide lifestyle-related services, including lock replacement and pest control. The company went public in 2017 on the Mothers market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan’s equivalent of South Korea’s KOSDAQ. Following a market reorganization in 2022, it is now listed on the Growth Market, which focuses on growth companies.
The largest shareholder is British activist fund Asset Value Investors Limited (AVI). AVI held a 28% stake as of an amended filing submitted in March and is expected to tender its shares in MBK Partners’ offer.
Sharing Technology is expected to post revenue of ¥9.8 billion (about ₩85.5 billion) and net profit of ¥2.5 billion (about ₩21.8 billion) for the fiscal year ending in September this year. These figures represent year-on-year increases of 14% and 77%, respectively. By taking the company private, it plans to pursue long-term improvements in corporate value free from pressure over short-term performance and shareholder returns.
MBK Partners has continued investing in Japan’s elderly-care and lifestyle-services sectors. In 2021, it made Tsukui a wholly owned subsidiary through a tender offer, and in 2024, it acquired HITOWA. This year, it pursued a management buyout (MBO) of elderly-care and medical-services provider Solasto together with the company’s management.
Japan Wellness, established on the basis of Tsukui and other businesses, is set to be acquired from MBK Partners by U.S.-based investment fund Advent International. The acquisition price, including debt, is approximately ¥200 billion (about ₩1.744 trillion).
Meanwhile, MBK Partners’ acquisition of Japanese machine-tool manufacturer Makino Milling Machine fell through after the Japanese government intervened.
MBK Partners had emerged as a “white knight” for Makino Milling Machine in response to Nidec Corporation’s unsolicited acquisition attempt. However, it withdrew its plan after the Japanese government recommended in April that the acquisition be halted under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. The Japanese government determined that the deal raised security concerns because Makino Milling Machine’s machine tools are also used to manufacture defense equipment.
Japan Industrial Partners (NSSK), a Japanese investment fund, later proposed an acquisition worth approximately ¥400 billion (about ₩3.488 trillion), but Makino Milling Machine rejected the proposal in July. The company determined that approval under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act and the feasibility of financing were uncertain because NSSK planned joint investment by overseas investors, including foreign government-affiliated investors.


[email protected] Reporter Hye-jin Seo Reporter