Japonica Partners & Co. is an American multinational

private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

headquartered in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The company specializes in underperforming global

asset classes In finance, an asset class is a group of marketable financial assets that have similar financial characteristics and behave similarly in the marketplace. These instruments can be distinguished as either having to do with real assets or having ...

and undervalued investment positions. The firm's public investments includes the largest tender-hold for

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Government Bonds A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments'','' and to repay the face value on the maturity da ...

in the world valued at €4 billion (approximately $4.2 billion in U.S. dollars). The firm also holds shares in and has reorganized multiple companies such as Allegheny International ($690 million), Sunbeam-Oster ($1.5 billion), CNW Corporation ($1.6 billion), and Borden ($2.4 billion). The company is known for its control and leadership by

Paul B. Kazarian Paul B. Kazarian ( ; born October 15, 1955) is an Armenian-American investor, philanthropist, and former investment banker. He is the founder, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Japonica Partners, a private equity hedge fund. ...

, who is the company's managing director and chief executive officer.

History

The firm was founded in 1988 in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

by former

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

investment banker,

. A year later the company began its first bid for a corporation,

Chicago and North Western Transportation Company The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, a railroad

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

. The firm eventually won the bid, transformed the company's management structure and profit streams eventually selling it to

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...

who took the company private. One fiscal year later, the firm moved in to bid for Allegheny International–a company that held Sunbeam-Oster. Kazarian was appointed the president of the CEO of Sunbeam, a position he held for three years. During his tenure, he brought the company to record breaking profit levels but eventually was ousted by the company's board for an overaggressive management style. After his was dismissed of his duties in the company he returned to Japonica as CEO and began bidding for Borden Co. At the time the company had $180 million in assets available for bidding. The firm offered $1.27 billion to buy out the company but was ultimately out-bet by

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...

Corporate affairs

Japonica Partners is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

company thus is not currently being traded in equity markets and stock exchanges such as the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

and

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

Charles & Agnes Kazarian Eternal Foundation

The Charles & Agnes Kazarian Eternal Foundation is a private operating foundation founded and controlled by the firm's CEO,

. The foundation furthers the United Nation's

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

: eradicate

extreme poverty Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

and hunger, achieve

universal primary education The second of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals focuses on achieving Universal Primary Education. This goal aims to ensure global access to complete primary education for all children, regardless of gender, by 2015. Education plays a ...

, promote

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

and empower women, reduce

child mortality Child mortality is the death of children under the age of five. The child mortality rate (also under-five mortality rate) refers to the probability of dying between birth and exactly five years of age expressed per 1,000 live births. It encompa ...

, improve

maternal health Maternal health is the health of people during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. In most cases, maternal health encompasses the health care dimensions of family planning, Pre-conception counseling, preconception, Prenatal care, pr ...

, combat

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, develop a global partnership for development. The foundation operated under the 501(c)(3) tax code of the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

External links

Japonica Partners official website

Japonica Partners bloomberg profile

References

{{Reflist Financial services companies established in 1988 Private equity firms of the United States Companies based in Providence, Rhode Island