Carlyle backs Japanese software MBO

The Carlyle Group has wholly acquired Japanese auto software provider Broadleaf from imaging equipment giant Olympus and its affiliated telecommunications services and solutions provider ITX.

Though no official details on the transaction value have been announced, the management buyout was valued at ¥19.5 billion ($212 million; €142 million) according to reports carried by Reuters. The transaction is scheduled to close on 13 November, a Carlyle statement noted.

Broadleaf was set up in 2005 and is based in Tokyo. The company develops and markets software for inventory control, customer management and estimate/sales/billing administration for automotive-related businesses such as maintenance and repair shops, used car shops and component distributors.

Broadleaf plans to scale up its overseas operations by leveraging Carlyle’s global network, the private equity firm's statement said.

Carlyle is currently investing out of Carlyle Japan Partners II, the firm’s second Japan-focused buyout fund, which closed on ¥215.6 billion in 2006. This was more than four times the size of its predecessor, which closed on ¥50 billion in 2001.

Fund II has previously invested in AvanStrate, a glass substrates maker, in June 2008 and Covalent Materials Corporation, a maker of ceramics products and silicon wafers, in December 2006. The firm typically makes management buyout, growth and strategic minority investments in Japan.