Nomura Holdings is actively exploring acquisitions in private debt asset management as part of a broader push to scale its alternatives business, according to chief executive Kentaro Okuda. The Japanese financial group is seeking opportunities that would bring both investment capabilities and specialist know-how, particularly from more established overseas markets.
The strategy reflects Nomura’s ambition to strengthen its position as a global asset manager and to tap into the diversification of financing needs in Japan as the economy moves beyond deflation. With domestic interest rates finally rising, Okuda believes demand for private debt and direct lending is poised to grow, creating new opportunities in a market still dominated by traditional bank loans.
Globally, private debt has expanded rapidly, with the market estimated at around $3 trillion in early 2025, up sharply from 2020 levels. Nomura sees stable, fee-based revenues from asset management as a core growth engine, highlighted by its $1.8 billion acquisition of Macquarie’s US and European public asset management businesses earlier this year — the largest deal in the firm’s history.
Alternative assets, including private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure, remain underrepresented in Japanese portfolios compared with global peers. Nomura is aiming to grow alternative assets under management to 10 trillion yen by March 2031, up from 2.9 trillion yen as of September 2025. To achieve this, the firm is evaluating both full acquisitions and bolt-on deals, including potential integrations alongside the Macquarie platform.
Okuda also highlighted long-term potential in Japan’s nascent direct lending market, noting that rising interest rates are widening credit spreads and improving the attractiveness of private debt and mezzanine financing. Nomura has already taken steps in this direction, including a strategic alliance with UK-based private debt manager Park Square and a $150 million investment into a US private credit fund.
Source: Reuters
