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Deal of the Year – Large Cap
(Equity commitment – USD 200m and above)

Fuji Soft (KKR)

KKR acquired listed Japanese IT services business Fuji Soft for an enterprise valuation of USD 4bn in February 2025 despite a rival creating the impression of a competing binding offer. The sponsor implemented a two-stage tender offer process to increase deal certainty: it secured 33.86%, including stakes held by two activist investors, then increased the price twice to move to 58% as the competition fell away. This was followed by an agreement with the founding family, a squeeze-out, and a delisting in May 2025. Since then, KKR has unlocked significant value for Fuji Soft through a sale-and-leaseback of office properties.

Marshall (HSG)

HSG – formerly Sequoia Capital China – broke new strategic ground in April 2025 with a EUR 1.1bn (USD 1.27bn) acquisition of Marshall, a UK audio brand headquartered in Sweden. There is a strong Asian angle: the region accounts for 50% of Marshall’s revenue while its supply chains are based in China and Southeast Asia. HSG saw an opportunity to expand the former and optimise the latter. The sponsor began business evaluation and building relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders ahead of an auction, enabling it to identify value creation levers. Other challenges included managing cross-border and cross-sector dynamics amid volatile macroeconomic conditions.

Nord Anglia Education (EQT)

EQT completed its first so-called “private IPO” in March 2025 with a USD 14.5bn buyout of schools operator Nord Anglia Education that facilitated an exit for one of the sponsor’s funds while another entered the capital structure alongside a host of co-investors. The transaction extends EQT’s 17-year partnership with Nord Anglia. It is also one of the most ambitious PE syndications attempted, raising nearly USD 10bn of equity from over 80 global investors. The process, which included independent third-party set pricing, is seen as mirroring the scale and complexity of an IPO while retaining the advantages of a private structure.

Sun Art Retail Group (DCP)

DCP acquired Hong Kong-listed Chinese hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail Group in February 2025, primarily by taking out Alibaba Group’s 78.7% stake. Based on the maximum share offer price of HKD 1.58 per share, the implied equity valuation is USD 1.9bn – making it one of China’s largest-ever buyouts by this measure. This was also the first buyout in the Hong Kong market to feature a deferred payment option for selling shareholders in addition to an all-cash option. DCP began evaluating the opportunity in early 2024 and was among the first to engage with Alibaba, ultimately securing a proprietary transaction.

York Holdings (Bain Capital)

Bain Capital completed a USD 4.8bn carve-out of Japanese supermarket operator Ito-Yokado and other assets from Seven & i Holdings in September 2025. The opportunity arose as Seven & i came under pressure from activist investors. For Bain, it involved coordinating a broad group of stakeholders – Seven & i, its shareholders and founding families, and the management, employees, and customers of the target assets – that were not fully aligned. Seven & i and the founding families retained a 40% interest in the new entity, York Holdings. In addition, the deal was supported by one of Japan’s largest hybrid debt financings.