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EQT$EQT · filed: grew revenue 63.9% in FY2025 to $8.6BWeathered boatTrillion Score 473Fall Risk HighNext year $5.8B–$19.7B sealedCheck ▾Close ▴
What EQT filed
Grew revenue 63.9% in FY2025 to $8.6 billion, operating margin 37.6% against a 16.8% median for crude petroleum & natural gas, equity 56.8% of assets, and dividend per share up 4 years running. Every figure links to the filing it came from on EQT’s card. Weathered boat: two warning signs. Trillion Score 473, #38 of 49 in its field; Fall Risk High (how it is measured).
What the house said in advance
Revenue for the fiscal year after 2025-12-31 between $5.8B and $19.7B, an 80% range sealed on 26 Sept 2026 · receipt #7727f6 · graded in public by the revenue in EQT’s next annual report.
Figures as filed with the SEC. Ranges, scores and boats are statistical descriptions of past filings, not ratings or recommendations. Reporting, not advice.
In plain words
EQT's three-firm legal stack for Kakaku reflects the new baseline cost of inbound Japan deals—and its urgency to deploy **$22B** at speed.
€266 billion
under management
$3.6 billion
acquisition of Kakaku
150 million monthly active users
and owns stakes in fintech rails that touch consumer…
$2.1 billion
take-private of Industrivärlden's healthcare assets in 2023
EQT, the Stockholm-based alternatives manager with €266 billion under management, has engaged three commercial law firms to structure its $3.6 billion acquisition of Kakaku.com, Japan's dominant price-comparison platform. The three-firm arrangement is standard for cross-border private equity but signals EQT's recognition that Japanese regulatory coordination now carries the same complexity weight as antitrust or financing. Kakaku operates Tabelog, the restaurant review site with 150 million monthly active users, and owns stakes in fintech rails that touch consumer credit scoring.
The deal marks EQT's largest Asia-Pacific play since its $2.1 billion take-private of Industrivärlden's healthcare assets in 2023. Kakaku has been publicly traded since 2000, but its founding family retains a 19% block, and Japan's Commercial Code requires tender documentation in Japanese with parallel English filings. EQT will likely use one firm for Japanese regulatory and corporate law, a second for U.S. antitrust and financing, and a third for European coordination. The split is procedural, but the cost is not—cross-border PE legal fees typically run 1.2% to 1.8% of deal value, which would place this engagement between $43 million and $65 million in total advisory spend.
What matters to allocators is the timing. EQT has raised $22 billion for its latest flagship buyout fund and must deploy capital at a pace of $4 billion per quarter to meet its five-year investment period. Japan represents 8% of global GDP but only 3% of global private equity deal flow, and EQT is now competing with Apollo, KKR, and Bain Capital for the same pool of family-controlled industrials and consumer platforms. Kakaku fits the pattern: a founder-adjacent business with high cash conversion, low leverage, and a dominant market position that can absorb operational improvement without requiring revenue growth. EQT's Asia fund has posted a 1.9x gross multiple since 2018, behind the firm's 2.3x European average, and the Kakaku acquisition is explicitly designed to close that gap. The three-firm structure also suggests EQT expects regulatory scrutiny—Japan's Fair Trade Commission has extended review periods on five inbound deals in the past 14 months, all involving digital platforms with consumer data assets.
Operators and allocators should watch for deal closure in Q3 2026. Japanese takeovers require a minimum 60-day tender period, and if EQT triggers a mandatory bid for the remaining shares, that extends to 90 days. The firm will need Japan Financial Services Agency approval for any changes to Kakaku's fintech subsidiaries, and the Fair Trade Commission will review competitive effects in the restaurant software and consumer credit markets. EQT has not disclosed financing terms, but comparable Asia-Pacific PE deals in 2025 used 40% to 50% leverage, which would imply $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion in new debt. The three law firms will also structure EQT's exit mechanics—whether through a re-IPO in Tokyo, a strategic sale to Rakuten or SoftBank, or a secondary buyout to a larger fund.
The advisor engagement is complete. The closing will tell us whether Japan's private equity window is open or merely ajar.
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For the principal
Track EQT's Japan deployment pace—if Kakaku closes by Q3, expect two more inbound deals before year-end from the same fund.
For the operator
Watch for Japan Fair Trade Commission rulings on digital platforms—extended review periods are now the norm, not the exception, for consumer data assets.
For the house
We hold EQT IX exposure through two LPs; flag Kakaku as a portfolio anchor and request quarterly updates on Asia IRR convergence.
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