KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR) has confirmed the acquisition of Yayoi Co., Ltd and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan, from ORIX Corporation. Yayoi has earned recognition as the largest financial and accounting software provider for SMEs and sole proprietors in Japan, famous for its namesake accounting and tax filing software that is widely used by Japanese SMEs.
KKR believed that it is looking forward to collaborating with the Yayoi team to assist them to grow their business after this transaction is completed. This comes at a critical juncture in Japan's digital transformation, and its hope to leverage KKR's worldwide experience and best practices to help Yayoi become a leader in providing intelligent solutions. KKR's investment comes from its Asia IV Fund.
Furthermore, Yayoi has over 2.5 million registered customers. Yayoi Series has been Japan's number-one cloud accounting software for six years in a row and the number-one desktop business software for 22 years in a row, according to MM Research Institute and BCN Inc. Yayoi is a leader in supporting SMEs in integrating more digital solutions into their business and migrating more functions to the cloud in Japan.
Earlier this year, KKR inked an agreement to purchase a majority investment in Refresco. Moreover, the current investors PAI Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) hold significant minority ownership. Refresco will receive support from KKR as it develops its worldwide and strategically situated footprint to better serve current and emerging consumers through a variety of forms and channels.