Blackstone set to acquire Sony Payment Services in Japan

By Gloria Mathias

Blackstone has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Sony Payment Services (SPSV), one of Japan’s payment service providers, from Sony Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group.

Sony Bank will roll over a certain portion of its equity and will continue to support the growth of SPSV as a minority investor. This marks Blackstone’s first investment in the financial technology sector in Japan.

Steve Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone, said, “Sony has been a longstanding partner to Blackstone. Our partnership goes all the way back to Blackstone’s founding nearly four decades ago; we started as a boutique M&A firm, and Sony was one of our earliest clients. We are proud to once again partner with a leading corporation in Japan and deepen our presence in the country, a key market for Blackstone where we’ve cultivated valuable relationships based on trust and shared success.”

Atsuhiko Sakamoto, Head of Private Equity, Blackstone Japan, said, “We are thrilled to invest in SPSV and expand our Japan Private Equity portfolio in “good neighbourhoods” sectors with strong secular growth. Digitization of the economy is a key trend around the world, including Japan, and SPSV is exceptionally positioned to benefit with its sophisticated technology and robust customer base. We’re committed to bringing our operational and technology expertise and scale to support SPSV’s growth.”

Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman and CEO, Sony Group, said, “For the past 30 years, SPSV has led Japan’s cashless evolution, making payments safe and secure for customers. We believe Blackstone, a long-standing partner of Sony Group, can help continue the legacy that SPSV has formed and support its next phase of growth.”

Hidehiko Nakamura, President and CEO, Representative Director, Sony Payment Services, said: “SPSV has solidified a healthy market position and earned the trust of customers as a high-quality payment service provider. We believe this partnership with Blackstone will boost SPSV’s capabilities through investments in IT and talent to help accelerate its growth journey, particularly at an exciting time of growth for the electronic payment industry in Japan.”