March 29, 2024

DealBook: Bain Capital Buys Half of Japanese TV-Shopping Company

Bain Capital agreed on Friday to buy 50 percent of one of Japan’s biggest television shopping companies marking the latest move by the private equity firm into that country.

Bain is acquiring the stake in the company, the Jupiter Shop Channel Company, from Sumitomo. The firm is paying more than $1 billion, a person briefed on the matter told DealBook.

Through the acquisition, Bain will buy a piece of one of Japan’s fastest-growing retail companies. Founded in 1996, Jupiter currently controls about 30 percent of the country’s TV-shopping market, according to Sumitomo. It draws an audience of about 27 million households across Japan, though it is available only in about half of the country’s households.

Jupiter generated about 120.9 billion yen, or $1.5 billion, in sales for the fiscal year that ended in March.

“We are pleased to enter this important partnership with Sumitomo Corporation and the company’s management team to accelerate the next phase of growth at Jupiter Shop Channel,” David Gross-Loh, a Bain managing director, said in a statement.

The transaction was led by Bain’s Tokyo office, which was opened in 2006 and has struck a number of deals since then. Among the firm’s acquisitions in Japan are Skylark, a big restaurant operator, and Bellsystem24, a major call center company.

Over all, Bain has struck at least three deals this year. Late last month, the firm agreed to buy Consolidated Container from a group led by Vestar Capital.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/bain-capital-buys-half-of-japanese-tv-shopping-company/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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