According to the New York Times, “Bain Capital, the American private equity firm, said Monday it would acquire the Japan franchisee of Domino’s Pizza because it saw opportunities in the country’s niche pizza delivery market, Reuters said.”

“The Boston-based buyout shop, whose other holdings include Dunkin’ Donuts and Burger King, said Monday that it agreed to buy Higa Industries, which operates 179 franchised Domino’s Pizza stores in Japan. Financial terms were not disclosed. Bain will buy the Japanese firm from Duskin, Daiwa SMBC Capital and Ernest Higa, the founder of Higa. ‘In Japan pizza delivery is a niche business and home delivered pizza is treated as a specialty item so there is less price sensitivity,’ David Gross-Loh, a managing director at Bain Capital in Tokyo told Reuters. Domino’s Pizza charges 3,900 yen, or $43, for a large pizza with roasted chicken topped with anchovy sauce. In 1998, Bain snapped up a majority stake in Domino’s Pizza, and retained a signifcant slice of the company after it went public in 2004.”