Tokyo-Based Fund Manager Star Asia Selling 25% Stake to Mizuho Leasing for $192M

An affiliate of Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group has agreed to take a quarter stake in developer and fund manager Star Asia Group through a JPY 30 billion ($191.9 million) investment in new shares of the Tokyo-based firm.

Mizuho Leasing, a hire-purchase specialist that frequently facilitates major real estate deals involving fund managers like Blackstone and SC Capital, is subscribing to fresh shares that will give it a 25 percent economic stake and 24.9 percent of the voting rights in Star Asia, according to a release late last week. Star Asia co-founders and managing partners Malcolm F MacLean IV and Taro Masuyama will maintain 75 percent of the company after completion of the deal. 

The business alliance will see Tokyo-listed Mizuho Leasing maintain its long-standing practice of providing bridge and mezzanine financing to Star Asia’s private funds and Tokyo-listed REIT while cooperating on real estate transactions. The firms will also pursue joint development and co-investment through Star Asia’s platforms — including hotel operator Polaris Holdings — and explore new fund formation and REIT expansion using Mizuho Leasing’s resources.

“The purpose of the capital and business alliance is to establish a stable capital relationship through the capital increase by the third-party allotment to support the growth of Star Asia Group,” the investment manager said.

Keying on Inflation

Founded in 2006 with offices in Tokyo and the US, Star Asia has invested more than JPY 1.67 trillion through multiple private funds and its sponsored Star Asia REIT, whose $1.8 billion portfolio includes 77 properties across office, logistics, retail, residential, hospitality and student housing. The firm’s capital partners have included US university endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds, and US- and Asia-based family offices.

In 2018, Star Asia purchased a majority equity stake in Tokyo-listed Polaris, which now operates 110 hotels with 16,134 rooms in Japan and overseas under brands including Best Western and Red Planet. Those hotels include locations formerly under the Minacia platform acquired by Star Asia in 2024.

Through the new partnership with Mizuho Leasing, Star Asia aims to capitalise on a sustained inflationary environment that has “finally become a realistic prospect” after nearly 30 years, according to the firm.

“In addition to managing private capital through private funds and public capital through listed entities, we aim to accelerate profit growth by further advancing the vertical integration of fund management, asset management, and operations related to real estate assets,” Star Asia said. “This is achieved through the flexible and effective utilisation of our own capital, enhancing our expertise, and continuing to deliver superior returns to our investor clients.”

Deal Intermediary Role

As an affiliate of Japan’s third-biggest banking group, Mizuho Leasing often acts as an intermediary in large-scale property transactions, including on behalf of Tokyo-listed REITs.

The finance specialist led by president and CEO Akira Nakamura bought the Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk from Singapore’s GIC in late 2024, then flipped the 1,053-key hotel to SC Capital Partners’ Japan Hotel REIT a few months later for JPY 64.4 billion.

Last October, Mizuho Leasing purchased the 206-key Citadines Central Shinjuku Tokyo from Singapore-listed CapitaLand Ascott Trust for JPY 25 billion, and in December it agreed to acquire a warehouse facility in Tokyo from Nippon Express for JPY 100 billion, with market sources identifying US private equity titan Blackstone as the ultimate buyer.