By Anton Bridge, Makiko Yamazaki and Miho Uranaka
TOKYO (Reuters) -Blackstone said on Wednesday it would launch a $3.5 billion offer to take TechnoPro Holdings private, the latest in a series of deals that have helped push M&A dealmaking to record levels in Japan this year.
The world's largest alternative asset manager is offering 507.4 billion yen, or 4,870 yen per share, for TechnoPro, a 17.4% premium to its closing average for the past three months.
Global private equity firms are competing to close
deals to take Japanese companies private, following management reforms to tackle low valuations.
Blackstone was up against rival private equity powerhouse Bain Capital in the final round of bidding for engineering staffing firm TechnoPro, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
Last week Swedish investment firm EQT announced a $2.7 billion tender offer for lift-maker Fujitec, while in February KKR took software developer Fuji Soft private after a protracted bidding war with Bain.
Blackstone is looking to expand aggressively in Japan, one of the people said. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The TechnoPro acquisition marks Blackstone's seventh in Japan and its third private equity deal in 2025, it said in a press statement.
Shares in TechnoPro closed down 2% at 4,876 yen. The Nikkei business daily reported the plan late on Tuesday, saying Blackstone would offer a price below 4,900 yen.
The tender offer is expected to commence on August 7.
($1 = 147.4600 yen)
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, Miho Uranaka, Anton Bridge, Satoshi Sugiyama and Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Edwina Gibbs and Kate Mayberry)
