이 기사는 2021년 11월 18일 08시01분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners has exited its investment in Japan’s Accordia Next Golf in a landmark deal worth about 400 billion yen ($3.5 billion).

MBK Partners has signed an agreement to sell Accordia Next Golf to SoftBank’s Fortress Investment Group, industry source said.

The deal marks the second largest exit ever by the private equity firm after the sale of its stake in Universal Studios Japan in 2017, providing a money multiple return of almost three times.

Under MBK Partners’ ownership, Accordia Next Golf has grown into Japan’s biggest golf course chain through add-on acquisitions – a play Michael ByungJu Kim, MBK Partners’ co-founder and partner, has emphasized to enhance the value of portfolio companies.

The private equity firm acquired Accordia Golf in January 2017 and two years later bought Next Golf Management, formerly Orix Golf Management, in February 2019. It also took over Accordia Golf Trust, which had been listed in Singapore, through a tender offer in October 2020.

The sale of Accordia Next Golf would be the third largest deal in the Japanese mergers and acquisitions market this year, after Hitachi’s $9.6 billion acquisition of US software developer GlobalLogic and Panasonic’s $7.1 billion purchase of US supply-chain software company Blue Yonder.

Accordia Next Golf owns or operates more than 170 golf courses in Japan, with the largest market share of 12%.

New York-based Fortress Investment Group, which was acquired by SoftBank for $3.3 billion in 2017, manages $53.9 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2021. Founded in 1998, the firm focuses on alternative investments including private equity, private debt and real estate. It had joined the bidding war for British supermarket chain Morrisons earlier this year. (Reporting by Hee-yeon Han)