News Release

Carlyle Announces the Listing of WingArc1st on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange

Carlyle Japan’s eighth IPO exit

Tokyo, Japan, March 16, 2021 – Global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced the listing of WingArc1st, a provider of Enterprise Output Management (EOM) software and BI (Business Intelligence) software, on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Carlyle sold its entire stake in WingArc1st through the IPO, equivalent to approximately 40% of the outstanding shares, assuming full exercise of the over-allotment option.

Headquartered in Tokyo, WingArc1st helps enterprise users make effective use of their internal data by providing, installing and maintaining software solutions. Its core products include EOM software “SVF”, BI software “Dr. Sum” and “MotionBoard”, among others. These products hold leading positions by market share in Japan, and are recognized by users for their high quality technology and originality, and as highly competitive in business processing and information analysis.

Carlyle acquired 100% of WingArc1st in April 2016, and has since worked closely with management to set and execute growth strategies by drawing on Carlyle’s industry insights and global resources. Key initiatives included reinforcing the company’s management structure and governance, streamlining the business portfolio through divestments, while also making new strategic investments and acquisitions to enhance the core business, expanding the BI software business, as well as forming capital and business alliances with partners to help support future growth. Having strengthened WingArc1st’s business foundations and expanded the overall business, Carlyle and the management team have worked together to take the company public to support its next phase of growth.

Jun Tanaka, Representative Director, President and CEO of WingArc1st, commented: “Carlyle has made a tremendous contribution over the past five years towards the growth and corporate value of WingArc1st. WingArc1st aspires to empower people through data by developing technologies that create value and solve issues faced by customers and the broader society. This listing marks the next phase in WingArc1st‘s journey to achieve this mission, and will enable us to further expand our product offering and accelerate the growth of our cloud business. Our employees recognize the importance of our social responsibility as a public company, and we will do our utmost to meet our shareholder’s expectations.”

Kazuhiro Yamada, Head of the Carlyle Japan advisory team, commented: “It has been our privilege to work in close collaboration with WingArc1st’s management team and employees to support the growth of the company. WingArc1st’s ability to maximize the value of data and provide its customers with innovative solutions, along with the acceleration of digitalization, further driven by COVID-19, has enabled WingArc1st to maintain its leadership position in EOM and BI software in Japan. We would like to express our utmost respect and gratitude to the management and all employees of WingArc1st on its listing, and we wish them all the best for their future success.”

Carlyle has made 27 investments in Japan since its establishment in 2000, and has supported numerous Japanese companies in expanding their businesses overseas, enhancing operational efficiencies, and strengthening management infrastructure. Out of the 17 exits to date, 7 have been through an IPO, with the listing of WingArc1st becoming the eighth.

Carlyle Japan’s buyout fund has a well-established history of investing in the technology sector, with past investments including Simplex Inc. and BroadLeaf. As of December 31, 2020, Carlyle had invested more than US$24 billion of equity in approximately 250 deals in the global technology sector. Last year, its portfolio company ZoomInfo completed its initial public offering, which at the time was the largest public debut by a software company in a decade.

This release is made as a matter of record and is not an offer of securities in Japan or any other jurisdiction, including the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an available exemption from registration. No registration of securities in the United States was made in connection with the IPO.

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About Carlyle
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $246 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs 1,825 people in 29 offices across five continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

About WingArc1st
WingArc1st‘s mission is “Data Empowerment”, to maximize the performance of people, and the company provides software and services that support the data utilization by its customers. WingArc1st has top market share* in document tools and data collection, analysis and visualization tools, and provides solutions to digitalize the operations of companies in all sectors. Please visit https://www.wingarc.com/ for more on WingArc1st.

* MIC Research Institute’s “2020 Market Analysis of Document Design and Utilization Products (FY2019)” (Shipment value by vendor of document utilization products) and ITR’s “ITR MARKET VIEW: DBMS/BI Market 2018” data analysis / reporting market: Sales and market share trends of vendors (FY2016)

Media Contacts:
The Carlyle Group
Annabel Arthur
+852 2878 5239
annabel.arthur@carlyle.com

Sheena Sha, Finsbury Glover Hering
+852 9542 9855
sheena.shah@fgh.com