Houlihan Lokey Advises Toward

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Toward Co., Ltd. (Toward) a comprehensive logistics operator and related systems development company, has received a minority investment from Yamae Group Holdings Co., Ltd. (Yamae), a leading conglomerate in the Kyushu region of Japan, where Toward is located. The parties also entered into a business alliance agreement in conjunction with this deal. The transaction closed on February 1, 2023.

Established in 1951 with headquarters in Saga, Japan, Toward provides comprehensive logistics and other related services, mainly in the Kyushu region in southwest Japan. It engages in motor truck transportation, warehousing services, logistical systems development, and food transportation, with particular strengths in the latter two areas. Toward is also a highly ESG-driven company and has recently launched a new "reverse logistics and recycle (R&R)" business, which sells fertilizers composted from food remains gathered from restaurants and also grows crops using the fertilizers.

Yamae (TYO:7130), which was first established in 1950 as YAMAEHISANO Co., Ltd., is a conglomerate company that operates multiple subsidiaries in the wholesale and manufacturing business relating to food, housing, and real estate. Headquartered in Fukuoka, Japan, Yamae operates 53 companies nationwide, mainly in the Kyushu region (with sales of approximately US$4.4 billion and EBITDA of approximately US$114 million). In October 2022, Yamae acquired Pizza Hut Japan Corp., and Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to Yamae on the deal.

Toward was seeking a business partner to expand its existing logistics business and strengthen its new recycling and composting business, and Yamae desired to further improve efficiency of its logistics business and fortify its ESG initiatives. The partnership provided a perfect strategic match that led to the successful closing of this transaction.

HL Succession Corp. (a Houlihan Lokey subsidiary and formerly GCA Succession) had been advising Toward's strategy since 2019, and negotiations accelerated last year. Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Toward on this transaction.

This marks a notable success for Houlihan Lokey in its ability to advise on deals that promote ESG and SDG initiatives that contribute to regional vitalization and waste recycling between two leading companies in the region. This is also a repeat transaction with Yamae, one of the largest and most influential companies in Kyushu and a major client of Houlihan Lokey's Fukuoka office, demonstrating Houlihan Lokey's expertise and distinction in advising deals in the Kyushu region.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive M&A advisor to Toward in a deal that exemplifies the continued success of HL Succession, the dedicated practice for succession M&A deals in Japan.