U.S. startup tackles Japan succession crisis with employee ownership
PALO ALTO, California -- Teamshares, a U.S. startup that specializes in buying small businesses that lack successors and transitioning them to employee ownership, is expanding into Japan, where succession is an increasingly pressing issue for companies with aging owners.
Teamshares set up a Japanese unit last year -- its first foray outside the U.S. -- and has recently begun considering specific targets. It has received funding from a venture capital arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.