Olympus Capital set to open China, India offices

TOKYO, July 11 (Reuters) Olympus Capital Holdings Asia is set to open offices in India and China later this year as it widens its search for companies keen to expand with a financial partner, an executive at the private equity firm said on Tuesday.

The low-profile company is also boosting its team from about 20 to around 30 people, raising its capacity to unearth deals and bridge cultural gaps in the growing incidence of cross-border mergers.

''We will open new offices in New Delhi and Shanghai,'' Olympus managing director Naoto Obama said at a conference held to discuss the role of buyout firms in Asia.

The New York-based firm, which manages about 0 million, has half its funds invested in Japan in some 20 portfolio companies.

Private equity funds typically snap up undervalued firms, restructure them and then sell them at a premium, but Obama stressed that Olympus seeks to partner with a company's stakeholders for at least five years.

The foreign-affiliated fund focuses on investment in mid-sized companies, often in a joint-venture format.

Unlike many of its rivals, it says it does not shy away from taking minority stakes, as it believes with the right approach management will be responsive.

Olympus is also looking for opportunities to roll up companies, merging them to reduce costs.

Obama said the market environment for doing deals in Japan is gradually improving as the public's understanding of mergers and acquisitions improves and the structures of deals become more diversified.

He said the supply of finance has grown dramatically and emphasis on creating value for shareholders has improved.

One challenge has been rising competition as the number of funds in Japan has mushroomed in recent years.

''Sometimes the prices are going up too high for us,'' Obama said, adding that Olympus tries to avoid getting involved in bidding wars.

REUTERS SBA DS1601