Joint Venture Partner-Japan

https://www.arenaco.com/

Objective: We are seeking a highly entrepreneurial and commercially savvy JV partner to target exceptional risk/return investments. We are sector agnostic.

Background: Arena is a special situations fund based in New York with an APAC HQ in Singapore. With an AUM of approximately US$4bn, we typically deploy US$10-50mn per deal and target a JPY +15% IRR (USD +20% IRR). Our investments have strong downside protection and a credit-like profile, with a typical investment duration of 1-2 years.

JV Terms: The JV Partner will lead deal sourcing and negotiations, representing Arena’s interest in front of local Borrowers in Japan. The partnership includes a fixed asset management fee and a generous upside sharing. We are looking to commit significant capital in the Japan market with the right partners (+US$100mn p.a.).

To provide some additional context, I have included answers to some potential questions:

• Senior Profile Consideration: Absolutely, we are open to considering profiles in the 55-60 age range, or even older, as long as they are active in the markets. Seniority and a broad network can be advantageous.
• Moving Strike Warrants: This niche area primarily works with companies seeking capital that cannot raise capital under traditional means due to higher risk. Major Japanese brokerage firms like Nomura, Daiwa, and Nikko have teams that handle MSW and MSCBs. An American firm, Evolution Financial Group, is also a significant player in this space.
• Local Origination Team Connections: Yes, the appropriate candidate in Japan would likely already have connections to take this type of deal directly to a local origination team. The upside for choosing Arena over a local team would be the opportunity for individuals who want to be their own boss, i.e., set up their own shop. They would have a lot of autonomy and keep a significant portion of the PnL, but they would also have the backing of a large American institution for support.
• Mezzanine Finance Origination Contacts: It depends on the type of mezzanine finance they do. In general, we have found Japanese mezzanine finance in real estate to be uninteresting due to high LTVs. However, if they are in more niche sectors, that could be quite interesting.