Nomura Holdings and Tokyo-based asset manager SPARX Group Co. have formed a strategic alliance to establish a listed fund vehicle structured to allow individual investors to make investments in unlisted companies.
Nomura and SPARX will establish an asset management joint venture, Nomura SPARX Investment, with respective stakes of 51% and 49%, according to a news release.
Nomura SPARX will set up "an investment corporation," effectively a fund, to invest in unlisted companies and after an initial investment period the investment corporation will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Venture Funds Market, a Nomura spokeswoman said.
The alliance brings together Nomura's "expertise in supporting the growth of unlisted companies, including through IPOs," and SPARX's asset management experience, including in the venture capital sector, according to the news release.
Nomura and SPARX will provide portfolio companies "with support related to IPOs and investor relations activities in addition to offering financing and M&A advice," the news release said.
