bain capital - kioxia deal
probably the most successful deal in PE history, outdone only by silver lake / dell for now. semiconductors are awesome and memory is awesome. props to the bain team, dunno how david gross managed to think up this deal but goated deal - i would imagine yuji sugimoto played a bigger role realistically but in any case, awesome deal curious to hear thoughts. don't really hear much about semiconductor deals.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, Bain Capital's involvement in the Kioxia deal is often highlighted as a standout transaction in private equity, particularly within the semiconductor and memory space. The deal is widely regarded as a significant success, showcasing Bain's ability to navigate complex industries and execute high-stakes transactions.
Semiconductors and memory are indeed critical sectors, given their foundational role in technology and data-driven industries. Bain's strategic approach, including leveraging expertise from key players like Yuji Sugimoto, likely played a pivotal role in the deal's success. While David Gross may have been credited with the vision, it's clear that a collaborative effort within Bain's team contributed to the execution and outcome.
Semiconductor deals are relatively rare in private equity due to their capital-intensive nature and the cyclical risks associated with the industry. However, Bain's success with Kioxia demonstrates their ability to identify and capitalize on opportunities in this challenging sector. It’s no surprise that this deal is often compared to Silver Lake's Dell transaction, as both represent landmark achievements in private equity history.
Sources: The future of Hong Kong high finance, Thoughts on new BX group?, Thoughts on KKR Global Impact/Blackstone Impact Investing/Other MF Impact Platforms?, Special Situations Investing (BX, Apollo, Ares), Will Bain & Co be bought out by a bigger consulting firm?
one of the hottest megafund atm!! amazing footprint in asia, just like EQT/barings
insane what they have pulled off
does anyone know rough MOIC on this deal?
20 - 25x aprox, not sure tho
It’s a great outcome and good for Bain for being one of the few funds that plays in semis hardware/fabs/WFE but there’s definitely an element of right place right time given generational memory cycle. Similar story with KKR/CoolIT. Acknowledge the skill as well as the luck. KKR probably wishing they’d waited a year for the Kokusai Electric IPO (though still a very respectable return).
KKR/CoolIT is such a feel good story for when capitalism works out well. Their employees got great payouts!
They completely lucked out, was a struggling investment until the AI craze took in (which they didn't underwrite back in 2018 obviously)
Yeah, I remember as an analyst working on pages for this turd (at the time).
The FT read on this deal was great, it was struggling and they lucked out with the AI boom. Not sure how much props Bain will get on this from within the community but guess it doesn't matter, money is money
They IPOed below the acquisition value after 6 years and then got insanely lucky. Good for them though, better to be lucky than good
In Bain's defense, they came in at a valuation and with a structure that let them hold through one of the most brutal NAND downcycles ever, and had the right management and systems in place to both weather the storm operationally and capitalize on the upcycle. They also chose not to sell their shares despite being public for several years ostensibly because they believed in a near-term recovery. And true, they almost certainly didn't underwrite LLMs in 2018, but they probably did underwrite some upside optionality for data storage given the pace of innovation in big data / early ML at the time.
Probably still made more money than they deserve but I think some credit is due
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