Bain Capital said to pay over $1 bn for half of Japan’s biggest TV shopping channel
23 Jun 2012
Boston-based private equity firm Bain Capital yesterday struck a deal to buy a 50-per cent stake in Japan's biggest TV shopping channel Jupiter Shop Channel Co from Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp.
Although Bain did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, several media estimate the size of the deal at $1 billion.
''We are pleased to enter this important partnership with Sumitomo Corporation and the company's management team ……. to accelerate growth of the company, said David Gross-Loh, a managing director at Bain.
''We believe the multi-channel strategy leveraging TV platforms, the internet, and mobile technologies offers significant future growth potential in combination with ongoing efforts to further increase customer satisfaction by enhancing Shop Channel's programming and services,'' he added.
Founded in 1996 and based in Tokyo, Jupiter, which is available in over half of Japanese homes, directly markets and sells jewellery, cosmetics, home appliances and fashion products.
It operates 24-hours a day and holds around 30 per cent of Japan's television retail market.
Jupiter generated about 120.9 billion yen, or $1.5 billion, in sales for fiscal year 2011.
With around $60 billion of assets under management, Bain opened a Tokyo office six years ago and has been an active acquirer of has invested in several Japanese companies, including restaurant operator Skylark, call-centre operator Bellsystem24 Inc, and the local franchisee of Domino's Pizza among others.
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