US private equity fund Bain and SoftBank Corp-affiliate LY jointly submitted a bid to acquire all shares of Japanese restaurant review and booking site operator Kakaku.com on May 13, 2026, according to a Bain representative who declined to comment on specifics [1]. LY, which operates Line and Yahoo Japan, followed up on May 14 with a counteroffer valuing Kakaku.com at about $4 billion, exceeding a prior Swedish offer [2].
EQT, a Swedish private equity firm, earlier proposed to acquire Kakaku.com for about 590 billion yen, approximately $3.7 to $3.75 billion, as of May 12 [3]. EQT’s bid was below LY’s recent valuation, intensifying the bidding competition over the popular restaurant platform.
Kakaku.com, known for its Tabelog site, has a market capitalization near 578 billion yen. Its major shareholders include Digital Garage Inc with a 20.6% stake, KDDI Corp holding 17.7%, and activist fund Oasis Management owning 17.2% [1].
A spokesperson for LY confirmed the offer but declined further comment, saying simply that the company “has made an offer to acquire Kakaku” [1]. The contest highlights strong investor interest in Japan’s digital platforms amid a robust M&A environment. Year-to-date M&A involving Japanese companies has reached roughly 39 trillion yen, a 70% increase compared to 2025 [1].
Kakaku.com is expected to soon decide between the rival proposals from Bain-LY and EQT [1]. The outcome will hinge on which offer secures shareholder and board approval amid calls for maximizing value. The bids mark one of the most high-profile acquisition battles in Japan’s tech sector this year.
The next key development will be Kakaku.com’s announcement of its preferred bidder in the coming days as it weighs LY’s higher $4 billion offer against EQT’s initial bid near 590 billion yen ($3.75 billion) [1, 3, 2].
