Permira to Buy Japanese Sushi Chain for About $1 Billion

The European private equity firm Permira has struck a deal to acquire a Japanese sushi restaurant chain, with plans to help it expand overseas.

The agreement values Akindo Sushiro, an Osaka-based operator of sushi bars in Japan, at roughly $1 billion including debt, Permira said in a statement. The private equity firm is buying a stake in Sushiro from Unison Capital, a Japanese rival.

The deal is among this year's largest private equity transactions in Japan. In June, Bain Capital agreed to buy 50 percent of a Japanese TV shopping company, Jupiter Shop Channel, for more than $1 billion.

For Permira, the deal is a significant foray into Japan, following its 2008 acquisition of Arysta Lifescience, an agrichemical company, for about $2.2 billion.

Akindo Sushiro, which was founded in 1984, ranked first among Japan's “revolving sushi” chains by sales last year, according to the company. Unison Capital came on board in 2007.

Permira “was attra cted to Sushiro's corporate vision of providing high quality sushi at attractive prices and sees ample potential in exporting Japan's food culture further,” Alex Emery, co-head of the firm's Asian business, said in a statement on Friday. “Sushiro has successfully grown over the last few years and has now become a very well-known and popular brand.”

Permira is betting it can take Sushiro beyond the growth it achieved on Unison's watch, seeing an opportunity to expand the chain into other countries.

“We believe that there is growing demand both in Japan and elsewhere for our value proposition,” Kenichi Toyosaki, Sushiro's chief executive, said in a statement.

Permira is making the purchase through Consumer Equity Investments Limited, an investment company based in Ireland that is backed by the private equity firm's funds. The acquiring company was advised by Nomura Securities.