We invest in
partnerships
to drive growth

MINERVA GROWTH PARTNERSは
成長を追求する企業との
パートナーシップに投資をします

 

Background

In recent years in Japan, there have been a number of cases where start-ups have not been supported by patient shareholders who properly ascribe value to those businesses which, despite near-term operating losses, are aggressively investing for future growth with upfront investments. As a result, in many of these cases post-IPO, this has resulted in volatile and stagnant share prices, thereby limiting these companies' ability to strategically invest for further growth. Furthermore, the number of late stage*institutional investors who can provide patient capital at scale are still very limited, which forces a number of start-ups to go public before they achieve sustainable profits.

*Late stage refers to a state in which the business model has been established with robust and proven unit economics with a structurally profitable financial model.

Our Mission

Minerva Growth Partners (hereinafter referred to as "MGP") provides start-ups with the option to raise sizable capital not only through IPOs, but also through private capital raising which allows them to aggressively invest capital and management resources for the strategic growth of their businesses. By doing so, we believe that Japanese start-ups will continue to invest boldly based on a long-term strategic vision, rather than simply focusing on short-term profits and losses, and that this will create greater competitiveness and vitality across these industries in Japan. By providing growth capital backed mainly by our local and global institutional investors, MGP will support the creation of the next generation category leaders from Japan whom we believe may ultimately compete globally.

 

TEAM

Minerva Growth Partners is established by Kei Nagasawa, former Mercari CFO, and Kensuke Murashima, former Head of Japan for Global Internet Banking/Global Software Banking Group at Morgan Stanley, together with Pleiad Investment Advisors*.

Pleiad Investment Advisors is an independent asset management company established in Hong Kong in 2014 and is an approved asset management company by the Securities Futures and Exchange Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. It invests in public companies in the Asia Pacific region (mainly Japan, China, and South Korea) through in-depth and extensive research, and specializes in a long-term, fundamental investment approach characterized by a relatively small number of concentrated holdings. As of the end of December 2023, it manages approximately 240 billion JPY (1.7 billion USD) and has a track record of investing in a variety of newly-listed growth stocks among Japanese start-ups. http://pleiadadvisors.com

Minerva-Pleiad Group

Advisory Board

Minerva Growth Partners welcomes the following members (listed in alphabetical order), who have experienced IPOs with growth capital funding as well as managing global businesses. As Advisory Board Members, they will provide support for our portfolio companies based on their wealth of management experience.

Fumiaki Koizumi

President, Mercari, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer, Kashima Antlers FC

Daisuke Sasaki

Chief Executive Officer, freee K.K.

Yo Nagami

Chief Financial Officer, Raksul Inc.

Ray Hatoyama

Chief Executive Officer, Hatoyama Soken Corporation

 

STRATEGY

Growth-Stage Investing

Minerva Growth Partners ("MGP") plans to invest from 1 to 3 billion yen per company, primarily targeting growth stage private companies that have established product-market fit (PMF), revenue models, and an attractive unit economics to grow towards 10 billion yen scale in sales. In addition, we will also make private equity investments in growth-stage public companies and their business units and subsidiaries. Our focus areas include consumer internet and B2B software and services including healthcare tech and fintech.

Buyouts / PIPEs / Carve-outs

As a private equity fund focused on growth companies in the technology sector, MGP is able to offer a variety of strategic solutions, not only limited to investments in unlisted companies, but also buyouts, private investments in public equities (PIPEs), and carve-outs of specific business units or subsidiaries.  In particular, we support companies who have concerns regarding their valuation in the capital markets, liquidity and stock price which make it difficult to raise capital, preventing them from pursuing proactive measures.  MGP addresses these issues through providing strategic solutions through our private equity investments.

Private-Public Crossover

MGP is capable of a long-term holding period from pre to post-IPO, allowing an investment across the company’s entire lifecycle. Pleiad Investment Advisors can also invest at an IPO and post-IPO and build large positions in the public markets for long and super-long holding periods.

Partnership

Our team with a highly unique and diverse background, has ample experience in public and private investments, investment banking, and in business operations. We will create long-term partnerships with our portfolio companies as well as provide ongoing support for management teams post-IPO.

  • Advisory services on capital allocation policy and financial strategy
    • Pre-IPO capitalization table and IR strategy support
    • IPO preparation support - equity story, IPO timing decisions, offering structure
    • Support for M&A and alliances
  • Provide advice and execution support for overall CFO operations
    • C-level hiring and team formation, administrative operations, KPI management, and business plan model development support
  • Providing market insights as a global institutional investor
    • Provide insights on global industry and capital markets
    • Support for preparing and enhancing communication with institutional investors post-IPO
 

PORTFOLIO

NEWS

CONTACT

ARK Hills Executive Tower S702, 1-14-5 Akasaka,
Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0052

info@minerva-growth.com