Bain Capital Partners announced that it would be selling the majority stake it in Domino's Pizza Japan for JPY 12 billion or USD 124 million. David Gross-Loh, Managing Director of the US-based private equity firm, told Reuters that they would still own a 25% stake in the Japan-based franchise. Despite the sale, he said that Domino's Pizza Japan still has the capacity to grow.

Reuters reported that private equity had found its niche in the mostly founder-owned restaurant businesses in Japan. Gross-Loh said that whereas industrial and technology companies take long to decide about selling their divisions, the need for successors in founder-owned firms provides private equity firms room to seize opportunities. "The retail and restaurant sector is rife with founder-owned businesses that can be acquired and taken to a next level," he added. Just last year, Unison Capital, a Japanese buyout firm, completed one of the largest transactions in the country when it sold a sushi restaurant chain for USD 1 billion to Permira, a private equity company based in Europe.