What is Search Fund?

A search fund is a form of entrepreneurship where an individual, known as a 'searcher,' raises capital from multiple investors to find and acquire a single promising small or medium-sized company through M&A, ensuring its continuity and growth.

*Flow of Search Fund

Search Funds around the World

The search fund was born in 1984 at Stanford University in the U.S. In recent years, the number of search funds established around the world, mainly by MBA graduates, has been increasing at an accelerating pace. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are transferring their businesses to search funds and achieving further growth and development.

Today in Japan, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with business succession problems, and many wonderful SMEs that should be left to the next generation are facing a crisis of business survival. Search funds are attracting a great deal of attention as a means of resolving business succession issues.

*Number of Search Funds Established by Region