KKR wraps up $2bn acquisition of Japanese real estate asset manager MC-UBSR

KKR & Co. Inc. has wrapped up the previously announced JPY230 billion (US$2 billion) acquisition of Japanese real estate asset manager Mitsubishi Corp.-UBS Realty (MC-UBSR) from Mitsubishi and UBS Asset Management.

The all-cash deal was announced in March 2022.

MC-UBSR has now been renamed KJR Management (KJRM). It was established in 2000 as a joint venture of Mitsubishi and UBS Asset Management.

At the time of signing the deal, MC-UBSR has JPY1.7 trillion ($15 billion) in assets under management.

The Japanese real estate asset manager has nearly 170 professionals, who manage two Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) — Japan Metropolitan Fund Investment Corporation (JMF) and Industrial & Infrastructure Fund Investment Corporation (IIF). Both REITs have been acquired by KKR and under their existing names, will continue to pursue their current strategies.

Katsuji Okamoto — Chairman of KJR Management and Naoki Suzuki — President of KJR Management said: “We are excited to embark on the next phase of KJRM’s growth as part of KKR. While our core operations and investment process for JMF and IIF will remain unchanged, we believe KJRM will be able to build on the complementary skills and relationships of each to deliver strong results for the unitholders of our REITs and meet our clients’ investment requirements.”

KKR said that the acquisition of MC-UBSR gives immediate scale to its global real estate business in a large, important market. Following the acquisition, KKR said that its global real estate platform’s assets under management have gone up to nearly $54 billion.

Hiro Hirano — CEO of KKR Japan and Co-Head of Asia Pacific Private Equity said: “We are pleased to welcome this world-class team to KKR. They have built a premier asset management platform in Japan’s REIT market, and we look forward to supporting their growth and success over a long-term horizon.”