Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire Hogy Medical Co., a Japanese surgical products manufacturer, for approximately ¥150 billion ($970 million) through a tender offer that will take the company private, Nikkei reported.
The U.S. private equity firm plans to purchase all outstanding shares of Hogy Medical, which has struggled with declining sales in its core surgical kit business as key hospital customers face operational challenges. The deal adds to a wave of foreign buyouts targeting Japanese companies, with private equity activity in the country surging this year.
Carlyle intends to overhaul the company’s marketing operations and accelerate product development to restore growth. Hogy Medical, founded in 1961, supplies sterile surgical kits and medical-grade non-woven products to hospitals across Japan.
The acquisition provides a notable exit for Dalton Investments, the activist fund that holds 26.4% of Hogy Medical. Dalton successfully placed its chief investment officer, Jamie Rosenwald, on the company’s board in June after winning a shareholder vote. The fund had been pressing for governance reforms and strategic changes.
Hogy Medical’s shares had already climbed roughly 20% this year on speculation about a potential privatization. The company’s management acknowledged in July that going private was under consideration.
