Carlyle Files Japan Fund III With SEC

Private Equity International has reported that the "Carlyle Group has officially launched its third Japan-focused fund, registering the vehicle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a SEC filing from late July. Carlyle Japan Partners III is a Cayman Islands registered fund."

"The filing did not disclose the size of the fund. But a source close to the matter told Private Equity International it will be JPY 100 billion (€769 million; $1.02 billion). "

"CJP II is currently tracking a return multiple of 1x and net IRR of 5 percent, the firm said at its fourth quarter earnings call in February. Carlyle Japan Partners I, a 2001 vintage fund that is fully invested, posted a multiple of invested capital of 2.8x and net IRR of 37 percent."

"In Japan, Carlyle looks at businesses worth $100 million to $150 million but avoids big auction deals and investments in companies with more than 1,000 employees, Tamotsu Adachi, managing director of the Carlyle Group in Japan, told PEI in an earlier interview."

Ashikaga Holdings Plans IPO

Ashikaga Holdings Co., the parent firm of Ashikaga Bank, has applied to go public by listing its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, according to The Nikkei.

Ashikaga Holdings' board has begun preliminary talks with the TSE, its shareholders and the Financial Services Agency.

Ashikaga Bank collapsed in 2003 and was delisted soon afterward. The regional bank was temporarily placed under state control before being sold in 2008 to a group of investors led by Next Capital Partners and Nomura Financial Partners.

Ashikaga Holdings, which was founded in 2008, initially planned to go public in the fiscal year ended in March 2011, but it has delayed the listing due to fallout from the global financial crisis that erupted in autumn 2008 and the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011.

ORIX Completes Acquisition Of Robeco

On July 1, ORIX Corporation (ORIX), Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A., (Rabobank) and Robeco Groep N.V. (Robeco) announced that the acquisition of Robeco by ORIX has been completed. ORIX has acquired approximately 90.01% of the equity in Robeco from Rabobank. The total sale price as a result of adjustment to reflect Robeco’s most recent financial position was 1,937 million EUR (250.7 billion JPY). The acquisition was previously announced on February 19th, 2013.