KKR holds first Asia board meeting in Tokyo, as Japan leads firm’s regional growth

By Kane Wu

HONG KONG (Reuters) -New York-headquartered KKR & Co is holding its first board meeting in Asia this week in Tokyo, a spokesperson for the firm said on Tuesday, underscoring how important Japan has become for the global alternative asset manager.

KKR’s two co-founders, George Roberts and Henry Kravis, as well as its co-CEOs Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, are among those present at the two-day board meeting, which commenced on Monday, the spokesperson told Reuters in an email.

“We’ve been consistently investing in Japan for nearly two decades. It’s a core market for us – our largest in Asia today,” said the spokesperson.

The meeting comes amid a dealmaking boom in Japan boosted by corporate governance reforms, still low interest rates and unprecedented investor interest.

Private equity-backed deals totalled $29 billion for the first three quarters of 2025, up 150% year-on-year and the second highest in history for the Jan-Sep period, preliminary LSEG data showed.

Japan, where KKR first entered in 2006, had grown into its largest market in Asia Pacific, accounting for 36%, or more than $20 billion, of the total fair value of its investments in the region, according to the firm’s public disclosures in February.

KKR last week announced the acquisition of Japanese insurance distributor Hoken Minaoshi Hompo Group without disclosing financial details.

The firm earlier this year won a prolonged and competitive bid against rival Bain Capital to take over software developer Fuji Soft for $4.1 billion.

It has also teamed up with a state-backed fund to acquire medical gear maker Topcon for $2.3 billion.

It sold a controlling stake in the Seiyu supermarket chain for $2.55 billion in March, making multiple times its original investment from the sale, according to public disclosures.

KKR’s board of directors include co-founder of Snap Inc Evan Spiegel, Patricia Russo, former CEO of Alcatel-Lucent and former Morgan Stanley co-president Robert Scully, the firm’s website showed.

(Reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Saad Sayeed)