Ropes & Gray’s Tokyo Team Featured in Private Equity International’s 2023 Japan Report

“It feels as though private equity has finally caught up in Japan,” stated Tsuyoshi Imai, Ropes & Gray private equity partner and Tokyo office managing partner in Private Equity International’s 2023 Japan Report.

In PEI’s annual report on the PE industry in Japan, a feature released on April 3 examining the rise of private equity dealmaking and financing also included insights from private equity partner Saeko Inaba and finance partner Ben Morris (both of Tokyo).  “Deals have risen significantly in size over the past two to three years,” said Tsuyoshi in the piece, with Saeko noting that “The geopolitical situation can impact deal timelines, and regulatory issues can affect whether a deal closes or not.”

On deal financing, Ben outlines that Japan is “a highly domestic bank-dominated market. Some are going into new areas, such as mezzanine financing, and they have been supportive of private equity. The lack of new market entrants does limit syndication options, but it means that banks stay invested in deals as opposed to selling them down.”