Will Nissan's Yokohama Headquarters Be Sold to U.S. Private Equity Amid Financial Troubles?

KKR Emerges as Leading Bidder from the U.S.
Transaction Estimated at Around 90 Billion Yen

Image to aid understanding of the article. Photo by AP Yonhap News

Amid financial difficulties, Nissan Motor of Japan is seeking to sell its Yokohama headquarters building, with U.S. private equity fund KKR emerging as a leading candidate to acquire it.

On August 21, Japanese media outlets such as the Yomiuri Shimbun, citing sources, reported that KJR Management, an asset management company under KKR, submitted the highest bid in the recent auction for Nissan's headquarters building. The transaction is estimated to be worth approximately 90 billion yen (about 800 billion won).

Even after the sale, Nissan plans to continue using the headquarters building by signing a lease agreement. Nissan originally had its headquarters in Ginza, Tokyo, but in 2009, the company relocated to a new building in the Minato Mirai district of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.

For the 2024 fiscal year (April 2024 to March 2025), Nissan recorded a deficit of 670.8 billion yen (about 6.3 trillion won). As a result, the company is pushing forward with large-scale restructuring, reducing the number of factories worldwide from 17 to 10 and cutting 20,000 employees, which accounts for 15% of its total workforce.

This sale of the headquarters building is also seen as a measure to secure financial stability and raise funds for restructuring costs.