Ibaraki machine vision, medical and LED lighting manufacturer, share sale

What is for sale

This is a Kanto-region manufacturer, founded in the late 1990s, that develops and makes machine vision inspection systems and automatic assembly equipment, plus develops and sells specialised industrial LED lighting. It has long-standing supply relationships with large domestic customers in the automotive, electronics, medical and food industries. The owner is selling after a major US customer cancelled a large order due to a change in US market regulations, leaving the company needing bridge funding and a partner to strengthen its finances and continue growing.

Because this is a share sale, the buyer takes over the existing company itself, including its lease, licences, bank account and, importantly, its existing debts.

What is included

• Real estate
• Equipment
• Inventory
• Know-how
• 100% of company shares
• Existing customer contracts

Strengths (as the seller states them)

• Advanced control and image-processing technology built around major sensor-maker components
• Strong track record with large domestic customers in automotive, electronics, medical and food sectors
• Current representative is willing to stay on after the sale to support technology transfer and client handover
• Niche, customised manufacturing capability in vision inspection and specialty industrial lighting

Wrinkles a careful buyer would ask about

• Net assets are reported as roughly negative ¥18,000,000
• Interest-bearing debt is roughly ¥104,000,000 and would transfer with the company as a share sale
• Sale was triggered by a large US order cancellation and a temporary cash shortage, so check current order book and cash position
• Detailed financials (executive pay, depreciation, cash balance, total assets) are hidden until the buyer registers and the seller approves disclosure
• Business includes owned real estate, so confirm whether property is held by the company or the owner personally

Paying for it

If you stay overseas. No Japanese bank will lend to a new company whose director lives abroad. The realistic stack is your own cash plus asking the owner to take part of the price over 2 to 3 years. That one question is in every Deal Pack.

If you move to Japan. On a visa that lets you run a business, Japan Finance Corporation lends up to ¥72M at about 1 to 2 percent for exactly this. Once you have a Japanese company, the government pays two-thirds of due diligence and registered-broker costs, up to about ¥8M (round 16 closes 6 Nov 2026). The company's existing bank relationship comes with it.

What this listing says. The company carries interest-bearing debt of roughly ¥104,000,000 and negative net assets of about ¥18,000,000, both of which would pass to the buyer under this share sale; the broker charges no upfront fee but takes a ¥500,000 interim fee at basic agreement plus a success fee on a Lehman scale with a stated minimum success fee of ¥10,000,000 (plus consumption tax) if 5% of the deal value would otherwise be less than that.

Full rundown, with the catches: japandealflow.com/money