9552.T

• Overall Strategic Direction

  • The firm is in a period of business portfolio transformation, shifting from a single-focus M&A brokerage model to a multi-business sustainable growth model. M&A brokerage is the core profitable base, while the consulting business is being built as the second core pillar, with operating lease incubated as a potential third pillar.
  • Management prioritizes absolute profit value and EPS over short-term operating margin, and continues to prioritize long-term corporate value enhancement over near-term results.
  • A corporate name change is under consideration to reflect the expanded business scope, to be put to a shareholder vote in December 2025.

• M&A Brokerage Growth Initiatives

  • Adjusted the management structure of the direct-sales Corporate Information Division: after growing 10-20 new leaders that can handle management duties, department heads will now also handle deals directly to boost closed deal volume.
  • Expanded the education team to deliver systematic advisor training from onboarding to strengthen deal control capabilities, and implemented coverage roles to target large deals.
  • Strengthened referral channel growth: expanded partnerships with regional and national financial institutions, built a dedicated team for accounting firms/tax cooperatives (recently closed a partnership with Osaka-Nara Tax Cooperative Association), and expanded the Singapore-based overseas business division to target cross-border deals.
  • Strengthened the corporate buyer division to improve cross-departmental collaboration and matching quality, with dedicated units for specific verticals.
  • Implemented multi-layered compliance checks for buyer companies: mandatory pre-deal review by compliance and legal teams at every stage of the process to prevent deals with disreputable buyers, aligning with industry-wide self-regulation efforts.

• Consulting Business Growth Initiatives

  • Focuses on DX-centered consulting, split into Quants Technology (IT/DX) and Quants Strategy (corporate strategy), with end-to-end support from strategy to M&A and PMI, leveraging synergies with the core M&A brokerage business.
  • Uses a one-pool system that does not fix consultants to specific industries/themes, allowing flexible assignment to build well-rounded expertise. Implemented an in-house developed management system to track utilization, projects and training to boost productivity.
  • Regular DX/AI training is provided by the parent company's engineering team to build practical implementation skills for client projects.
  • Has a multi-faceted training system including regular internal knowledge sharing, mentor programs, 360-degree feedback, certification support, and hierarchical systematic training to support consultant growth.
  • Targets 300 consultants by the end of 2026, and aims to reach the same revenue scale as M&A brokerage within 4-5 years, with a long-term target of building a several-thousand person organization.

• Capital Return

  • Initiated dividends in 2025, targeting a 10% payout ratio, with a planned 5 yen per share dividend for 2025.
  • Completed a 7 billion yen share buyback from May to September 2025, and subsequently retired all 8.79% of outstanding shares purchased.

• Consolidated guidance for 2026 September full year: Revenue of 22.18 billion yen, 33.6% YoY growth; operating profit of 5.99 billion yen, 20.7% YoY growth; EPS of 65.14 yen, 29.3% YoY growth.
• M&A仲介事業 guidance: Revenue of 18 billion yen, 18.8% YoY growth; operating profit of 6.49 billion yen, 10.6% YoY growth, with 36.1% operating margin. Management frames growth as coming from productivity improvements rather than headcount expansion, and notes some potential volatility in closed deal volume and size.
• コンサルティング事業 guidance: Revenue of 3.8 billion yen, 161.8% YoY growth; projected operating loss of 650 million yen. Increased investment includes higher branding spend and one-time office relocation costs planned for December 2025, as the business continues to prioritize rapid scaled growth over near-term profitability, with profitability expected to improve as scale drives lower recruitment cost ratios.
• インキュベート事業 guidance: Revenue of 380 million yen, operating profit of 140 million yen, 37.8% operating margin. Core hiring is complete, and product sales are expected to launch in the second half of 2026 after regulatory approval is obtained.
• Medium-term guidance: The consulting business is targeted to reach the same revenue scale as M&A brokerage within 4-5 years, with long-term potential to grow to a several thousand person organization.

1. M&A仲介事業: Revenue decreased year-over-year due to slower-than-expected closed deal volume recovery. In Q4 2025, 8 large deals closed, bringing the average deal size to 75 million yen, the second highest level on record. M&A仲介事業 accounted for approximately 86.45% of total consolidated revenue in 2025, with projected 2026 revenue of 18 billion yen (18.8% YoY growth) and operating profit of 6.49 billion yen, for an operating margin of 36.1%.
2. コンサルティング事業: Full year 2025 revenue reached 1.45 billion yen, a 6x increase year-over-year, with Q4 revenue growing 289.1% YoY. The consultant headcount grew 5x YoY to 136 employees. The segment is currently in an investment phase and operating at a net loss in line with plan, and accounted for approximately 8.73% of total consolidated revenue in 2025. Projected 2026 revenue is 3.8 billion yen (161.8% YoY growth), with an expected operating loss of 650 million yen.
3. インキュベート事業 (Operating Lease): The new business is in preparation, with projected 2026 revenue of 380 million yen, operating profit of 140 million yen, for an operating margin of 37.8%.

Consolidated 2025 results: Total revenue 16.6 billion yen (+0.3% YoY), operating profit 4.96 billion yen (-41% YoY), with revenue achieving 92.5% of prior guidance and operating profit achieving 86.6% of prior guidance.

• Industry-wide reputational risk from growing social issues related to disreputable buyers in SME M&A, which could lead to increased regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage for the whole sector if incidents occur.
• M&A brokerage closed deal volume has been stagnant, with deal breaks during the negotiation phase dragging down closing rates, creating pressure on near-term revenue growth.
• As the business scales, there is risk of reduced management oversight and operational misalignment across larger, more dispersed teams.
• The consulting business requires large upfront investments in hiring and infrastructure, and there is risk that projected scale and revenue growth do not materialize as expected, leading to prolonged losses.
• The M&A market is sensitive to macroeconomic conditions, which can impact buyer demand and deal closing timelines.

Q: Is the CFO change a demotion of the prior CFO or a strategic repositioning? / A: The change is a strategic organizational adjustment, not a demotion. The prior CFO, a certified public accountant with deep internal audit expertise, will move to the role of Head of Internal Audit to strengthen group governance. The new CFO has prior financial industry experience and internal knowledge of the firm's growth, and will support growth from both financial and strategic perspectives.

Q: Is M&A brokerage expected to see low or moderate growth going forward? / A: Growth outlook differs by business unit. The direct-sales Corporate Information Division is no longer in a high-growth phase and will see stable, gradual growth. The financial and accounting partnership divisions have large untapped market potential, and ongoing partnership expansion is already starting to deliver results, with room for significant continued growth. The overseas business division also has significant growth potential.

Q: Could the consulting business eventually become larger than M&A brokerage and the firm's core business? / A: It is a distinct possibility. The overall market for consulting is far larger than the market for M&A brokerage, so with successful execution the business can grow to exceed the scale of the core M&A business over the long term.

Q: What are the causes of lower closing rates and what steps are being taken to improve this? / A: The main drag on closing rates is an increase in deal breaks during the negotiation phase, with no material change to sourcing and matching outcomes. Management is addressing this by strengthening senior support and expanding advisor training to improve execution phase follow-up, which is expected to steadily improve closing rates over time.

Q: How do you prevent deals with unethical buyer companies? / A: The firm has a multi-stage pre-deal check process, with cross-checking across multiple data vendors at every deal stage. It also requires audited financial statements from buyers and conducts custom qualitative review against an internal check list. A dedicated compliance department was established in August 2024 to strengthen this framework after industry-wide concerns emerged.