Carrying Your Business into the Future

Japan Relay Partners is a traditional search fund,
partnering with you to pass your business to the next generation and nurture its growth.

Japan Relay Partners is a traditional search fund, partnering with you to pass your business to the next generation and nurture its growth.

What is Search Fund?

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What's New

2024.09.11
Infomation
Launch of Our New Corporate Website

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About Us

Japan Relay Partners is a traditional search fund established in Japan in 2024. We acquire the shares of a single outstanding private company, with our founder, Yasushi, personally stepping in as the successor to lead the business into the next generation. By taking a long-term approach, we aim to drive the company’s growth and development. Through business succession using the search fund model, we seek to revitalize small and medium-sized enterprises and create a business environment where young leaders can actively take on management roles.

Company

Japan Relay Partners LLC

Founder & CEO

Yasushi Kobayashi

Our Values

01
/ FOCUS

Realizing Face-to-Face Business Succession

In traditional business succession through an operating company or private equity (PE) firm, the successor is typically decided after the deal is finalized, and it's rare to meet the successor beforehand. However, with a search fund, Yasushi, the founder, dedicates his career to managing a single promising company as the successor. This allows the owner to meet him in person and decide if he is truly worthy of being entrusted with the valuable company they have built.
02
/ GLOBAL

Promotion of Global Expansion

Promoting Global Expansion The founder, Yasushi, has lived overseas for 17 years in 6 countries. During the time he worked for a Japanese conglomerate, he spent over 10 years engaged in the global expansion of Japanese products, including those of small and medium-sized companies. During his time in Cuba, he established a new company with only one Japanese employee and was engaged in the management of the company as the local top executive. The team (investors) also includes institutional investors from Europe, the U.S., and Asia, and we have great strength in global expansion combined with their networks.
03
/ SUPPORT

Comprehensive Support from Experienced Professionals

Our company was founded with the backing of 18 seasoned professionals. Each member brings deep expertise in their respective markets, industries, and specialties, providing full support to Yasushi, the successor and current president. Together as a team, we are committed to driving the company’s medium- to long-term growth and success.

Team (Investors)

Japan Relay Partners is managed with the support of institutional and individual investors from Japan and abroad.

Examples of Institutional Investors

Japan

Inclusion Japan Inc.

Founded in 2011, Inclusion Japan is a venture capital firm that invests in seed and early-stage startups. It launched its first fund in 2014 and is set to launch its second fund in 2023, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group as the largest limited partner, contributing to a total of 6.6 billion yen. The firm has strong connections with Japan's major corporations and excels in facilitating collaboration between large companies and startups. Notably, it was the first venture capital firm in Japan to invest in a traditional search fund.
Japan

Japan Private Equity Co.

Established in 2000, Japan Private Equity operates a business succession fund that specializes in small and medium-sized enterprises. Its major shareholders include the Development Bank of Japan Inc. and Japan M&A Center Holdings Inc. As of 2024, the firm has created 11 partnerships with a combined value of 28.6 billion yen in business succession and restructuring funds. Japan Private Equity was the first in Japan to invest in a traditional search fund and actively supports search entrepreneurs as both an investor and mentor.
Japan

Japan Search Fund Accelerator, Inc.

Founded in 2018, Japan Search Fund Accelerator is Japan's first specialist in search funds, dedicated to investing in, supporting, and promoting them. In 2021, it partnered with Nomura Research and Advisory Co. to expand its investments in traditional search funds, both domestically and internationally. The company is led by Noriko Shimazu, a prominent figure in Japan's search fund industry.
America

M2O Inc.

M2O is a Los Angeles-based institutional investor in search funds, founded in 1992. Over the past 30 years, the firm has invested in more than 170 search funds and participated in the acquisition of 75 small and medium-sized businesses. Known for its long-term approach, M2O often maintains relationships with portfolio companies and their management for over 10 years.
Netherlands

Scipio Holding

Scipio Holding, a Dutch institutional investor in search funds, was founded in 2020. In 2023, it partnered with Spanish asset management firm Swanlaab Venture Factory to establish Scipio Swanlaab SF SCR, a fund of search funds, with a total capital of €25 million.
Spain

SECWAYS

Based in Girona, Spain, SECWAYS is a family office founded by Pere Hospital, the fouder of Cloudways. The firm invests in startups, search funds, and real estate. To date, it has invested in 27 startups and 15 search funds.