Japanese hotel and spa operator Ooedo-Onsen Holdings is being bought by US private equity firm Bain Capital Partners in a bid to capitalise on tourism ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Bain will buy out shareholders in the Japanese company, including its president, for an undisclosed sum.
In a statement, Bain said Ooedo-Onsen sales have risen approximately 30 per cent annually since 2007. Best known for its Ooedo-Onsen-Monogatari “spa themepark” on the man-made island of Odaiba in Tokyo Bay, the firm expects revenue of about JPY35bn (US$294m, €258m, £190m) for the fiscal year ending in February, derived from its 29 hotels and spas nationwide.
The Ooedo-Onsen-Monogatari facility opened in 2003 and includes Japanese-style buildings with baths fed by natural hot springs starting 1,400m underground, in addition to open-air baths, a garden footbath and many other hot spring baths. There is also a traditional-style street with attractions based on the days when Tokyo was known as Edo. This street hosts massage parlours, events and entertainment, accommodation, fortune-telling, restaurants and other cultural leisure offerings.
Japan is seeking to raise the number of foreign tourists by relaxing some visa regulations and extending the sale of tax-free items, according to
Reuters.
The Japan National Tourism Organisation measured a record 13.4m foreigners visiting Japan in 2014, a 29 per cent increase from 2013. The government has also set a target of 20m visitors a year by 2020 when Japan will host the Olympic Games in venues across the capital.
