Private equity major Carlyle is acquiring Japanese HR software provider Kaonavi for $325 million, while KKR is reportedly considering investments in automaker Nissan.
Carlyle to buy Japan’s Kaonavi for $325m
US private equity major Carlyle Group announced that it will acquire Kaonavi, a Japanese human resources software provider, in a deal valued at about 50 billion yen ($325 million).
Carlyle will launch a tender offer on Friday, offering 4,380 yen per share, representing a 120% premium to Kaonavi’s closing price on Thursday. The offer will run until March 31.
Kaonavi, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Growth Market, supports the bid, according to a Nikkei Asia report. The company provides cloud-based human resources management services.
The report added that Carlyle will also purchase shares from Japanese staffing giant Recruit Holdings, which holds roughly 21% of Kaonavi’s stock.
Carlyle has $435 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2024. It announced securing the first close of its fifth Japan buyout fund in the fourth quarter of 2023.
KKR said to consider investing in Nissan
Private equity giant KKR is considering an investment in Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The planned investment comes as Nissan’s merger talks with Honda Motor fell through. The move will help stabilise the struggling Japanese automaker, the report added.
KKR is said to be in the early stages of evaluating a potential equity or debt investment to bolster Nissan’s financial position. The report, however, said KKR may ultimately decide against a deal
Merger talks between Honda and Nissan have collapsed after the firms failed to agree on a multi-billion-dollar tie-up. The merger would have created an auto group worth $60 billion and the world’s fourth-largest by vehicle sales after Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai.
Despite the failed talks, Nissan, Honda, and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will continue collaborating on battery development, autonomous driving, and electric vehicle technology, per the report.
