Q&A: Carlyle sees rise in Japanese carve-outs

The Carlyle Group sees a rise in Japanese companies willing to say goodbye to non-core businesses in order to boost their return on equity and compete more effectively on the global stage. 

Private equity firms have long aspired to buy large, under-managed units of marquee Japanese companies, and there is an unusually large crop of carve-outs this year.

Japan’s biggest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical is spinning out Wako Pure Chemicals Nissan Motors is auctioning autoparts maker Calsonic Kansei Fuji Heavy Industries' adviser Lazard is calling for bids on its the recall-struck airbag maker Takata, according to market sources.

The Washington-headquartered private equity firm has...