(May 12): Bain Capital and LY Corp have submitted a joint offer to acquire Tokyo-listed Kakaku.com Inc, the US$3.7 billion price comparison site operator fielding a takeover by EQT AB.
US private equity fund Bain and SoftBank Corp-affiliate LY have offered to buy all of Kakaku’s shares, launching a bidding war, people familiar with the matter said. LY, which operates one of Japan’s largest search engines Yahoo Japan, seeks synergies with Kakaku’s Japanese price comparison services and restaurant search portal Tabelog, the people said, asking not to be named as the talks are private.
Kakaku is comparing the two offers and will reach a decision soon, one of the people said.
A representative for Bain said the fund has submitted a joint proposal with LY to take Kakaku private, but declined to comment on the details. A spokesperson for LY said the company has made an offer to acquire Kakaku, declining to comment further. A Kakaku representative did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
Deals to acquire Japanese companies are on the rise due to corporate governance reforms and a weak yen. Mergers and acquisitions involving Japanese companies have hit ¥39 trillion (US$247 billion) in value as of Tuesday, 70% higher from the same period in 2025, when such deals hit an annual record.
Kakaku, whose market capitalisation stands at around ¥578 billion, is 20.6% owned by business incubator Digital Garage Inc, with KDDI Corp holding a 17.7% stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Hong Kong activist fund Oasis Management holds 17.2%.
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