Back to BAIN - developing storyBain has been picking up pieces...

Back to BAIN - developing story

Bain has been picking up pieces in Japan for awhile and plans further buys. My interest was piqued when they made an offer for Hitachi Metals in May 2021; HN has been a key figure in NdFeB including holding patents relevant to the highest power fully-dense sintered NdFeB.
Toshiba is a longtime rare earth researcher and magnet maker, among other things; holds patents relevant to REE PM including SmCo "small grain" variants which are possibly the most powerful.

Crustal abundance estimates (ppm) from Abundance of elements in Earth's crust - Wikipedia
Nd 35
Pr 9
Sm 7
Dy 6


While it seems impossible to know what (if any) plans BAIN has for the magnet segments of their big purchases of Toshiba and Hitachi Metals, having both of these pieces suggests (imho) that they are in fact interested in rare earth magnets (Toshiba does EV motors as well).

Bain Goes on Japan Buying Spree With $40 Billion in Investments Updated:November 11th, 2022

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Bain Goes on Japan Buying Spree With $40 Billion in Investment

Most Read from Bloomberg

• The US firm is on a buying spree, sealing a multi-billion dollar deal last month to acquire Hitachi Ltd.’s metals unit, while it is involved in a bidding war for Toshiba Corp. Bain is also hiring more people in Japan as it prepares to open an office in Osaka — home to a number of high-profile technology companies.
  excerpt:Toshiba is up next in the pipeline of deals eyed by global private equity giants. Last month, the Tokyo-based company granted a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc. preferred bidder status for a buyout, according to people with knowledge of the situation. State-backed investment fund Japan Investment Corp. is leading a rival bid, with investors such as Bain and MBK Partners in talks to be involved, Bloomberg News has reported.