Small M&A in Japan: individual buyers and succession
Kojin M&A (individual M&A) refers to individuals and small buyers acquiring businesses in Japan, typically for hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of yen. Small Start records domestic deals closed on marketplaces such as Batonz, TRANBI and Rakko M&A: the price, the multiple on monthly profit, and how the handover went.
The price alone tells you little. The same ¥2M buys a nail salon with 1,500 clients in one deal and a YouTube channel in another. Each case breaks down what was handed over, for how much, and how.
- Case studies
- 60
- Sale price
- 10億円
Small M&A and succession cases in Japan
1–24 of 60
Chirihama EV Bike Rental: A ¥3.8M Ask Closed at ¥2.72M — the Economics of a Tourism Business Running on ¥500K a Year in Fixed Costs
An EV bike rental on the Chirihama Nagisa Driveway, launched at the doorstep of the pandemic, sold for ¥2.72M against a ¥3.8M ask. We trace the economics of a very small tourism business — ¥30–40K monthly rent, roughly ¥500K in annual fixed costs — from the buyer-side record.
LOTUS: an LGBTQ bar in Japan sold for ¥15M, or 2.5 years of its annual profit
Zen, who runs LOTUS Inc., sold one bar earning ¥500,000 a month (¥6 million a year) for about ¥15 million on TRANBI. That is 2.5 years of annual profit. She also turned down roughly ¥5 million offered for a second bar in Osaka.
Tokyo Karaage Land: A 5-Tsubo Fried Chicken Shop Changed Hands for ¥5M — and the Deciding Factor Among 7 Bidders Was Not Haggling
A roughly 5-tsubo karaage shop in Shinjuku sold for ¥5M via TRANBI. The buyer was KAZAANA, an e-commerce operator in traditional crafts. Chosen over six rival bids because it "did not haggle." Three years old, profitable every month, with takeout and delivery making up nearly all sales.
An 18-Year-Old French Pâtisserie Changed Hands for ¥8M With 1–2 Weeks Left Before Closing — And the 29-Year-Old Buyer Never Negotiated the Price
A handmade French pâtisserie in Hyogo, in business 18 years, was sold through TRANBI for about ¥8 million while it was one to two weeks from shutting down. The buyer, a 29-year-old sole proprietor, never once asked for a discount.
Ozeki Sangyo: A Factory "Two Months From Death" Changed Hands for ¥13M — ¥11M of It an Apartment, Not Cash
Ozeki Sangyo, a contract manufacturer in Isesaki, Gunma, was sold via TRANBI about two months before its scheduled shutdown. The price was roughly ¥13 million: ¥11 million paid in an apartment transferred in kind, ¥2 million in cash. It turned profitable in about 100 days.
NEOKICK Maebashi: A Gym Earning ¥2.5M a Year Sold for ¥3M — After the Only Trainer Quit Mid-Negotiation
A kickboxing gym with ~40 members and ~¥2.5M annual operating profit sold for ¥3M. The only trainer quit mid-negotiation; the buyer still closed.
Takadanobaba English School: Sold for ¥6M to a Buyer Who Thought ¥5M Was Fair
A nine-month-old English school with 35 students, barely at breakeven, sold for ¥6M. The buyer privately valued it at ¥5M and paid the full ask anyway.
A Fruit Sandwich Shop Headed for Closure Sold for ¥2M — a "Nothing to Lose" Listing Drew 20+ Offers
A sandwich shop the owner had already decided to shut down was listed on TRANBI at his bank's suggestion and drew more than 20 acquisition offers. The ¥2M price equalled the original setup cost. "I could have asked ¥1M more," the seller says.
Systeria: Two Hiroshima Rental Spaces Sold for ¥4.8M on a Formula of "Two Years of Profit Plus Furniture"
A rental-space business started with ¥1M split between two people grew to 43 locations in about two and a half years. Two Hiroshima sites were then sold for ¥4.8M — and the seller explains the pricing formula, plus the price point where enquiries dry up.
A 15-Year Housekeeping Business Sold for ¥45M Against an ¥80M Asking Price — What Won the Four-Way Auction Was Not the Highest Bid
A housekeeping services business with no successor (15-plus years, roughly ¥60M in annual revenue) closed on TRANBI at ¥45 million against an ¥80 million asking price. In a four-way competition, the buyer's bid was not the highest. Average customer tenure was four to five years.
Eleven Rental Spaces Sold One by One for ¥60.5M Total — What Earned "Two to Three Times the Going Rate" Was the Know-How, Not the Property
Rental space operator Mitsu sold 11 locations for a cumulative ¥60.5 million through an M&A marketplace. Most were around 20 square meters, yet "every one sold for two to three times the going rate," with the most recent 30-square-meter unit going for ¥12 million. Eighty percent of bookings came through his own website.
ParaWorks: An Indoor Golf Studio Built for ¥20M and Sold for ¥35M After Eight Months — Powered by a #1 Ranking for "[Area Name] Indoor Golf"
ParaWorks, a web marketing agency, launched a membership indoor golf facility and sold it for ¥35 million after just eight months on a ¥20 million initial investment. It turned a monthly profit in month five, and roughly 80% of free-trial visitors converted to members.
280blocker: The Solo-Built Ad Blocker That Sold for ¥377M — 14x Its Operating Profit — When Its Developer Fell Ill
iOS ad blocker 280blocker was sold to listed company Tobila Systems for ¥377 million in August 2021. Its disclosed financials showed ¥38M revenue and ¥27M operating profit, putting the price at roughly 14x annual profit. The app had topped Japan's App Store paid rankings three years running — and changed hands when its solo developer fell ill.
55% margins, a ¥35.3M price: the supplement subscription nobody bought at ¥80M
A supplement subscription EC business asked roughly ¥80M, found no buyer, and closed at ¥35.3M (about ¥40M including the 10% brokerage fee). Monthly operating profit was about ¥1.3M on a 55% margin, repeat rate 90%, zero complaints in five years. Of roughly ten deals the buyer approached, one survived.
Ruki: Selling a Personal Blog for ¥2.8M — a Seller's Full Walkthrough of a Brokered Site M&A in Japan
Most personal-blog sales in Japan never disclose price or process. In 2023, blogger Ruki sold her blog for ¥2.8 million through the brokerage Saitoma and published the entire journey: the appraisal form, interviews with three buyer candidates, the price negotiation, and the payout arriving the day after final inspection.
Tenshoku Antenna: A One-Person Media Site, ¥700M Plus a ¥300M Earnout from Listed Company Logly
Tenshoku Antenna, a Japanese job-change media site run by moto (Shunsuke Totsuka) as a one-person company, became a 100% subsidiary of listed adtech firm Logly in April 2021. The founder disclosed the price himself: ¥700M plus an earnout of up to ¥300M. Negotiations took about six months, and his director compensation exceeded ¥100M a year — one of the largest disclosed exits for an individual-run media site in Japan.
Skeb: The "Personal Hobby Service" That Sold All Its Shares for ¥1 Billion — Settling the Risk of One Person Holding ¥200 Million a Month in Transactions
Skeb, which its founder called a "personal hobby service," reached 1 million registered users and roughly ¥200 million in monthly transaction volume in just over two years, then became a subsidiary of Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha in February 2021 for ¥1 billion. The top reason for selling was not stalled growth but payment-settlement risk.
Abbey Road: He Sold His Own Assets to Take Over a 20-Year Rakuten Watchband Store
Katsuhito Saiki, who worked at a seafood trading company, took over "Abbey Road," a watchband shop that had run for 20+ years on Rakuten Market. He'd once passed on the listing because it exceeded his budget, but returned to it; when a loan from the Japan Finance Corporation was rejected, he sold off his own assets to raise funds. Negotiations spanned about 1 year and 8 months.
A 30-year-old tutoring school in Fukuoka was handed over in about 7 months — every online marketing push after COVID missed
A tutoring school founded in Fukuoka in 1995 as a home-tutor agency, once employing about 100 instructors at its peak, was handed to a company employee in his 40s over about 7 months. Instagram, LINE, landing pages, and video campaigns run after COVID reportedly showed no felt effect.
Ten-plus firms raised their hands, seven made it to top-level talks — the pharmacist who won a Sendai dispensing pharmacy, on his second M&A
The transfer of Sendai-based dispensing pharmacy KSI Ltd., founded about 30 years ago, drew inquiries from over ten companies, and seven advanced to top-level meetings. The winner was Kentaro Ishii, a pharmacist who had taken over his first store two years earlier. Exclusive negotiations began within a month of the first meeting, and closing came in about 3 months. The deciding factor wasn't price, but his attitude toward employees.
A 48-year-old took over a hypochlorous-water dealership from an 84-year-old founder. Under a year into the job, sales were up ~150% year over year
Kenji Matsuki (48), who spent over 20 years at a major private railway company, took over "Oak Sales Ltd.," a hypochlorous acid water dealer in Nagano Prefecture, in April 2024. The previous owner was 84 and had spent 4 years searching for a successor. Under a year into the role, sales were up roughly 150% year over year.
About 4 Months From Decision to Taking Over a Fukuoka Tutoring School — a Corporate Manager Who Brought a Proposal to the First Meeting
Mr. Suzuki (a pseudonym), who worked as a manager in a major manufacturer's overseas business division, decided in January 2024 to go independent through M&A. About four months after starting his search on Batonz, he had resigned, signed the M&A contract, and become president, taking over a Fukuoka-based individualized tutoring school in August of the same year. The decisive factor was bringing a proposal to the first meeting and pitching improvement ideas.
A senior-care info site earning ¥17,200/month in profit sold for ¥1.4 million — inside a valuation of 81 months of profit
From Rakko M&A's analysis of 1,050 completed site sales, one deal stands out: a nursing-home info site earning ¥17,200/month in profit and roughly 30,000 PV sold for ¥1.4M — a multiple of ~81 months, 4.6x the survey average of 17.8 months.
Cooking YouTube Channel (1.1M Listed / 110K Subscribers), Asking Price ¥3,500,000 (About 30.3 Months of Monthly Revenue), Sold
From Rakko M&A's public closed deals (batch 2). A cooking YouTube channel (110K subscribers) sold 61 days after being listed at an asking price of ¥3,500,000. We record the going rates of Japan's individual-scale M&A market from the listed data.
FAQ
- Can an individual buy a business in Japan?
- Documented cases include a 51-year-old employee who acquired a Saitama salon for ¥2M via TRANBI and runs it remotely from Nagoya, and a licensed administrative scrivener who took over a nail salon with 1,500 clients and 10 staff for ¥2M.
- What do these deals cost?
- Disclosed marketplace deals here cluster between ¥1.2M and ¥4.8M, roughly 6 to 30 months of monthly earnings. One content site with ¥17K monthly profit sold at 81 months of profit; each article records what justified the multiple.