Carlyle Partners With Japanese Biomaterial Developer Spiber - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Private equity firm Carlyle Group (CG) announced Wednesday a strategic partnership with Japanese new-generation biomaterial developer, Spiber,

Carlyle becomes a cornerstone investor in Spiber with its minority investment in the startup through Carlyle Japan Partners. The company will have one seat on the board.

During the investment round, Spiber will also receive investment from existing and new investors including, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford and Cool Japan Fund Inc., as well as an additional MVS totaling to 34.4 billion Japanese yen.

Following this investment round, Spiber's equity valuation stands at approximately 135 billion yen.

For Spiber, the latest investment round and the strategic partnership with Carlyle mark a major growth step prior to a planned IPO in the coming years.

The partnership and investment round is expected to allow Spiber to strengthen its management infrastructure, grow its team, and significantly scale up production.

Kazuhiro Yamada, Managing Director and Head of Carlyle Japan, said, "Our investment in Spiber marks Carlyle's first non-buyout growth investment from its dedicated Japan fund, Carlyle Japan Partners. We expect to invest about 10% of our Japan-dedicated fund CJP IV for growth investments including Spiber."