(Corrects size of first close and targeted fund size in headline and paragraphs 1 and 2 to 7 billion yen not 70 billion yen and 20 billion yen not 200 billion yen)
By Miho Uranaka
TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Tokyo-based Minerva Growth Partners has secured around 7 billion yen ($44 million) at the first close for a second fund that aims to invest in late-stage startups, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The firm declined to comment on the amount raised so far but said the fund aims to raise around 20 billion yen in total and that backers include the state-backed Japan Investment Corp (JIC).
The source declined to be identified as the information is not public.
Japan has few high-profile startups, with a shortfall of late-stage capital often blamed for pushing companies to go public while still small. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is moving to tighten its criteria to reduce the amount of small listings.
“The number of companies not rushing to IPO and aiming to go public after growing further is increasing,” said Kensuke Murashima, managing partner at Minerva.
Murashima, a former banker at Morgan Stanley, established Minerva in 2020 along with former Mercari CFO Kei Nagasawa and backing from Hong Kong-based Pleiad Investment Advisors.
Minerva’s first 19.2 billion yen fund, formed in 2020, included investments in payments company Infcurion, which went public in October.
($1 = 159.1600 yen)
(Reporting by Miho Uranaka; Writing by Sam Nussey; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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