Story
Bain Capital Sells Entire Stake in Japanese Memory Giant Kioxia
Summary
Private equity firm Bain Capital has fully divested from Japanese memory chip manufacturer Kioxia, a company it helped take public after an $18 billion acquisition in 2018. The sale follows a period of significant growth for Kioxia, fueled by demand for AI technologies.
Private equity firm Bain Capital has sold its entire stake in Japanese flash memory chipmaker Kioxia, Managing Partner David Gross confirmed in a statement to Bloomberg TV. Bain Capital led a consortium in an $18 billion deal to acquire the company, then known as Toshiba Memory, in 2018.
The sale follows a period of substantial growth for Kioxia, which has seen its valuation increase amid high demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications. The company's market capitalization reached a peak of 56 trillion yen ($345 billion) in mid-June, briefly making it the most valuable company in Japan. Kioxia completed its initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in late 2024 after a failed merger attempt with Western Digital.
Bain, which held a stake of over 50% when Kioxia went public, has been steadily reducing its position over the past year. According to reports, the firm sold over $2 billion in shares in November 2025, followed by another sale of over $3.5 billion in February. "We were winding down… we don’t have a stake anymore," Gross stated, confirming the complete exit.
AdFollowing Bain's departure, Toshiba remains a major shareholder in Kioxia, with a reported stake of approximately 22% as of November 2025. Other investors from the original 2018 buyout included South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, as well as Apple, Dell Technologies, Kingston Tech, and Seagate Tech.