Your Deal
Origination Team
on the Ground in Japan
We get US buyers to the table for succession-driven mid-market deals in Japan and Asia — primarily on-market, through partnerships across Japan's broker community, backed by database-driven tailor-made approaches — as your dedicated buy-side FA, from first contact through closing.
Why Japan, Why Now
Asia's Most Compelling
Buyout Market
¥4.8T
Japan PE deal value in 2025 — a fifth consecutive year above ¥3 trillion (Bain & Company)
31% vs 22%
Median IRR of Japanese buyouts vs the US market — with 2.5x vs 2.1x median TVM (Bain & Company)
5,115
Japan-related M&A transactions in 2025 — an all-time record (RECOF)
+70%
YoY growth in inbound M&A value in 2025, with roughly 60% of deals led by investment firms (RECOF)
~1.27M
SME owners METI projected to pass age 70 without a successor by 2025
62,695
Businesses closed in Japan in 2024 — more than half of them still profitable (Teikoku Databank)
The constraint isn't opportunity.
It's access.
A weak yen, Tokyo Stock Exchange governance reform, and the largest ownership transition in Japan's history are pushing exceptional companies toward a sale. Global funds have noticed — record capital is being committed to Japan. But in the mid-market, where succession-driven deals concentrate, almost none of that deal flow ever reaches an international buyer's desk.
Why US Buyers Struggle
to Source in Japan
Japan's mid-market runs on intermediaries and trust. The deals are there — in volume — but they move through Japanese-language broker networks, and a foreign buyer approaching alone struggles to get a reply, let alone a seat at the table.
Intermediaries hold the deal flow
The overwhelming majority of Japanese SME deals move through domestic intermediaries — roughly 80% of deals closed via government-registered institutions are intermediary-brokered, concentrated in the small, owner-operated segment. Without connections into this community, there is no pipeline.
Cold outreach rarely works
Unsolicited approaches from unfamiliar foreign buyers rarely get a response. Japanese owners — and their brokers — engage through trusted introductions, not cold emails from abroad.
Your name can't open the door
Even for on-market deals, approaching in your own name from overseas seldom works: sellers and their intermediaries hesitate in front of an unfamiliar foreign counterparty.
Nothing is in English
Japan's succession pipeline lives on domestic, Japanese-language platforms and broker networks that international buyers can't monitor — let alone act on.
How Japan's M&A Market
Really Works
Japan's SME Agency national register now lists more than 3,300 M&A intermediaries and financial advisers — a vast, fragmented ecosystem that operates almost entirely in Japanese, on rules few foreign buyers have encountered anywhere else.
01
One firm, both sides
In Japanese SME M&A, deals are predominantly arranged by a chukai — a single intermediary who collects fees from both the seller and the buyer (ryote, or "both-hands" brokerage). Roughly 80% of deals closed through Japan's government-registered support institutions use this dual-representation form; only about 20% use single-side FA representation.
02
A structural conflict — legal, but real
Dual representation is not prohibited: with both parties' consent it is entirely legal, and Japan's SME M&A Guidelines govern it through disclosure rather than a ban. The economics, however, are what they are — one firm paid by both sides cannot act solely in your interest.
03
Accepted in practice
Japanese SME M&A has long accepted this trade-off, and the model works — deals get done every day. But buyers who arrive unaware of the structure negotiate at a disadvantage, often without realizing it.
Our Stance
We are not an intermediary.
We are your buy-side FA — on your side of the table only.
We never take fees from the seller. We represent the buyer — and only the buyer — supporting your negotiations or conducting them entirely on your behalf, from first contact through closing.
And here is the reality that matters most: Japan's intermediaries hold the bulk of the country's SME deal flow, and many of those 3,300-plus registered firms — especially smaller brokers — hold sell-side mandates yet struggle to find the right buyer. We partner with them, co-sourcing buyers for their mandates: their deal flow, our cross-border buyers. Combined with Japanese corporate databases, this network gives us on-market coverage a foreign buyer cannot build alone.
A cross-border-dedicated, buy-side-only FA for mid-market deals is still rare in Japan. That is exactly the seat we take — yours.
Coverage First,
Bespoke Always
An English interface for you, Japanese-language execution on the ground. On-market coverage through broker partnerships is the backbone of our sourcing; database-driven, tailor-made approaches supplement it — all under a single buy-side mandate.
On-Market Broker Partnerships
Most Japanese SME deals move through intermediaries — and many of the 3,300+ registered firms, especially smaller brokers, struggle to find the right buyer for their sell-side mandates. We partner with these brokers, co-sourcing buyers for their deals, and surface the ones that fit your mandate.
Non-Name Buy-Side Representation
Approaching under your own name rarely works in Japan. As your representative, we receive non-name (anonymized) disclosures on your behalf and open the conversation with the careful, Japanese-language communication sellers expect — earning you a seat at the table.
Database-Driven Target Mapping
We map your target universe from Japanese corporate databases and our own deal flow — and where your thesis calls for it, run selective off-market approaches, executed locally in Japanese.
Qualified Owner Meetings
We qualify interest before you invest time, arrange the meetings, and sit in with JP–EN interpretation — you meet only owners who are genuinely ready to talk.
Buy-Side Negotiation
We support your negotiations — or conduct them entirely on your behalf — always from your side of the table, never the seller's. Your interests are the only ones we represent.
Execution Bridge
NDA, IOI, and LOI process support with bilingual documentation, plus due-diligence coordination with local professionals — momentum managed on the ground all the way to closing.
How It Works
From Mandate to Closing in 5 Steps
A continuous origination pipeline — not a one-off list. We report progress at every stage so you always know what's moving.
Mandate & Thesis
We align on your investment thesis, size range, sector focus, and must-have criteria before any outreach begins.
Pipeline Build
On-market deals surfaced through our broker network, plus targets mapped from Japanese databases — reviewed and prioritized together with your team.
Outreach & Access
Trust-first contact in Japanese — with non-name disclosures received as your representative, so doors open before your identity is on the table.
Owner Meetings
We arrange and join qualified meetings with JP–EN interpretation, then debrief and shortlist with you.
LOI to Close
NDA and IOI/LOI process support, plus due-diligence coordination with bilingual professionals through closing.
We Run the Ground Game.
You Run the Deal.
What we handle
- Target mapping and company research across Japan and Asia
- On-market broker coverage and selective off-market outreach in Japanese
- Non-name (anonymous) first contact as your representative
- Meeting arrangement, attendance, and JP–EN interpretation
- Negotiation support — or full negotiation on your behalf
- NDA and IOI/LOI process support
- Due-diligence coordination with bilingual local professionals
- Ongoing pipeline reporting against your mandate
What stays with you
- Investment decisions and valuation
- Final negotiation positions and deal terms
- Legal and financial due-diligence conclusions
- Closing and post-acquisition ownership
Aligned Incentives,
US-Standard Terms
Our engagements follow the retainer-plus-success-fee structure US buyers already know from lower-middle-market sourcing mandates.
Monthly Retainer
A fixed monthly engagement fee covers dedicated research, outreach, and reporting capacity for your mandate — and is credited toward the success fee, so you never pay twice for the same outcome.
Success Fee
A closing-contingent fee, payable only when a transaction we sourced actually closes — keeping our incentives fully aligned with yours from first outreach to signing.
Fee design stays flexible — the retainer / success-fee balance can be adapted to your mandate, deal size, and timeline. Full terms, including retainer crediting and engagement scope, are provided on request.
Ready to build your Japan pipeline?
Tell us your thesis — we'll show you what your target universe in Japan looks like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from US buyers about sourcing mandates in Japan
No. Sourcing mandates are buy-side engagements: we work under your mandate, against your criteria, and report only to you — we never take fees from the seller. Japan's dominant intermediaries typically work both sides of the same transaction; our sourcing service is structured specifically to avoid that conflict. (Deals listed on our platform are a separate, sell-side-engaged service.)
Tell Us Your Mandate
Four quick selections are enough to start. Our cross-border M&A team will respond within 1-2 business days.