Bain Capital Fully Exits Kioxia After Stock Surges 4,000% Since December 2024 IPO

According to Bain Capital executives speaking to Bloomberg TV on July 8, the U.S. private equity firm has completely exited its holdings in Kioxia, the Japanese memory chip maker now ranked No. 1 by market capitalization in Japan. Bain, alongside SK Hynix, acquired Toshiba's memory division for approximately $18 billion in 2018 and took it public in December 2024. The stock has surged over 4,000% since listing, driven by global AI investment demand. Kioxia employees who received stock options are estimated to have become millionaires, each holding approximately 950 million yen in company stock.

The success contrasts sharply with Korean private equity firm MBK Partners' acquisition of Homeplus, once South Korea's second-largest hypermarket chain. Since MBK's 2015 acquisition, Homeplus has faced bankruptcy proceedings, threatening approximately 12,000 jobs and rendering the National Pension Fund's 612.1 billion won investment worthless. South Korean policymakers have criticized MBK's acquisition strategy as predatory, characterizing the Homeplus collapse as emblematic of leveraged buyout abuses by private equity firms.