What Owner's does

Owner's Inc. (オーナーズ株式会社) is a Tokyo-based financial advisory firm founded in August 2021 that provides seller-exclusive M&A advisory and related wealth and succession services to Japanese small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business owners. The firm operates under the RISONAL brand across three service lines: RISONAL M&A (exclusive seller-side FA representation, distinguished from traditional M&A brokers that serve both buyer and seller), RISONAL WEALTH (post-exit asset management intermediation delivered through a registered Independent Financial Advisor partnership with Rakuten Securities), and RISONAL Internal Succession (launched July 2025 with a wholly-owned investment vehicle, Naibuhisho Shien Kiko, supporting employee-led management transitions). The company claims its exclusive-agent model reduces total deal costs by approximately half versus traditional brokerage services and reports that over 90% of SME owners who compared RISONAL with traditional M&A brokerage chose RISONAL.

The firm's underlying technology stack combines LLM-based workflow automation — covering automated meeting minutes, buyer candidate identification, transfer scheme analysis and net proceeds simulation, and proposal draft auto-generation, with practical deployment targeted from spring 2024 — with a free public stock price simulator using the comparable company analysis method and a proprietary navigation system guiding clients through the M&A process. Its value proposition rests on four pillars: exclusive seller representation; deep advisory talent (founder and CEO Sakuta Takayoshi is a CPA with EY/Deloitte training; partners and directors are drawn from Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Mizuho, MUFJ, SMBC Nikko, Daiwa Securities, GCA/HL Succession, and major audit firms); a comprehensive service stack covering pre-exit through post-exit life planning; and regulatory standing including registration as a Small and Medium Enterprise Agency M&A support organization (registration no. 318), Kanto Finance Bureau Financial Product Intermediary registration (no. 998), and founding membership in the M&A Financial Advisor Association (MAFA).

Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based M&A advisory fees (RISONAL M&A), commissions on financial products intermediated through the Rakuten Securities partnership (RISONAL WEALTH), insurance agency commissions added in November 2024, and advisory and potential carried interest from the internal succession investment subsidiary. Distribution combines direct advisory engagements, a referral network of banks/securities firms, tax accountants, and law firms, content-led brand building (CEO-authored columns in Nikkei, Toyo Keizai, President, and Gentosha Gold Online plus original survey research), and channel partnerships such as the Yamazen Genbato manufacturing SME platform. The firm has raised approximately 1.43 billion yen (roughly $10M USD) across three rounds from 2021 to 2023, with backers including SMBC Venture Capital (lead in Series A), DEEPCORE (SoftBank Group), Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, SBI Investment, Mizuho Capital, and One Globe Capital.

Name

Owner's

Legal name

オーナーズ株式会社

Website

https://owners-ma.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Owner's Inc. provides seller-exclusive M&A advisory, post-exit wealth management, and internal succession support to Japanese SME business owners via its RISONAL brand, combining professional advisory teams with LLM-based workflow automation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

M&A Advisory / Business Succession Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specialist / Sector-Focused M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Insurance-Integrated Wealth Managers (RIA + Insurance Solutions) (FSAAACAI), Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB)

Keywords

• M&A advisory services
• Business succession support
• Wealth management advisory
• Internal succession services
• Financial product intermediation

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. M&A Advisory (FA) Services: Fee-based M&A financial advisory services for seller business owners. The company operates as an exclusive agent (FA) for sellers, not a broker representing both sides. Revenue is derived from advisory fees tied to deal execution, including success-based fees. The company has stated it reduces total deal costs (total fees) by approximately half compared to traditional brokerage services.
2. Wealth Management / Financial Product Intermediation: As a registered IFA (Independent Financial Advisor) partnered with Rakuten Securities, the company provides financial product intermediation services to post-M&A business owners. Revenue is generated from commissions on financial products sold (securities, insurance, and other asset class products). Additional revenue stream from insurance agency business.
3. Internal Succession Support Services: Services supporting internal business succession, including investment through the subsidiary Naibuhisho Shien Kiko (社内了承支援機構) and ongoing management support. Revenue includes advisory fees and potentially carried interest from investment activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Owner's is an asset management and financial advisory firm that operates the RISONAL brand providing seller-exclusive M&A financial advisory (FA) services for Japanese SME business owners, alongside RISONAL WEALTH for post-M&A wealth management and RISONAL 社内了承 for internal business succession. The company functions as a dedicated seller's agent rather than a broker, combining a CPA and investment-banking-veteran team with AI/LLM-powered workflow automation across M&A execution, valuation, and post-exit financial planning.

Product overview

Owner's operates RISONAL, a unified service platform combining M&A advisory, wealth management, and internal succession support services for business owners. The core product RISONAL M&A provides seller-exclusive FA services, while RISONAL WEALTH offers post-M&A wealth management and RISONAL 社内了承 supports internal business succession. The platform combines professional team expertise with AI, data analytics, and automation technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RISONAL: Primary service brand offering seller-focused M&A agency services (RISONAL M&A), internal succession support (RISONAL Internal Succession), and wealth management services (RISONAL WEALTH) for business owners in Japan.

Products and services

• RISONAL M&A Seller-exclusive M&A financial advisory (FA) service for SMEs, providing exclusive agent representation focused on protecting and maximizing seller's interests rather than matching buyers and sellers as a broker.
• RISONAL WEALTH Wealth management and asset inheritance planning service for business owners, covering securities, banking, insurance, real estate and all asset classes with post-investment follow-up support. Includes insurance agency business launched November 2024.
• RISONAL 社内了承 (Internal Succession) Internal succession support service helping business owners transfer businesses to trusted internal employees. Includes capital solutions via investment subsidiary and management accompaniment support.
• Stock Price Simulator (株価シミュレーター) Free stock price simulation tool using comparable company analysis method that allows sellers to estimate company value using methodologies actual buyers employ, transparently disclosing calculation methodology unlike typical brokerage simulators.
• Insurance Agency Business Insurance agency services offered as part of RISONAL WEALTH to provide comprehensive asset and inheritance planning, including insurance as one of the asset classes, providing end-to-end support from M&A through asset operation and inheritance.
• Genbato M&A Partnership Service M&A services offered to manufacturing SMEs through Yamazen's 'Genbato' SaaS platform, providing technical/business succession support for small and medium manufacturing companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% of SME owners who compared RISONAL with M&A brokerage chose RISONAL
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Naibuhisho Shien Kiko (社内了承支援機構株式会社)coreOthers · 1 July 2025Wholly-owned investment subsidiary of Owner's established to facilitate internal succession transactions. The subsidiary acquires shares from business owners on a long-term/permanent basis (not for resale), providing capital for successor buyouts and ongoing management support. This is an internal corporate entity, not an external partner.
• M&A Financial Advisor Association (MAFA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2025Owner's is one of six founding member companies of MAFA, established to promote fair M&A advisory practices and healthy development of the Japanese M&A market. CEO Sakta serves as a board director. MAFA's slogan is 'Adding more trust to M&A' and focuses on protecting client interests and promoting proper transaction standards.
• Yamazen (株式会社山善)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2024Partnership agreement for Yamazen's manufacturing SME SaaS platform 'Genbato'. Owner's provides M&A services for technical/business succession to manufacturing SMEs using the Genbato platform. This is the first time a production goods trading company has offered a comprehensive SME SaaS platform. Owner's is the sole M&A services partner within this ecosystem.
• Rakuten SecuritiescoreTechnology or Integration · 27 July 2023Business partnership where Owner's acts as an IFA (Independent Financial Advisor) intermediary for Rakuten Securities financial products. Owner's registered as a financial product intermediary (registration no. 関東財務局長(金仲)第998号), enabling it to recommend and sell Rakuten Securities products to post-M&A business owner clients.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Nihon M&A Center: Japan's largest SME M&A intermediary by deal volume, operating a similar sell-side / buy-side matching model across the country. Direct competitor for the same SME-owner client base that Owner's targets.
• M&A Capital Partners: Listed Japanese M&A advisory firm focused on SME succession deals, with comparable deal sizes and client profiles. Competes head-to-head with Owner's RISONAL M&A service in the same succession-driven segment.
• M&A Souken Holdings: Mid-market M&A intermediary with strong regional bank referral networks across Japan. Targets the same SME owner-manager succession segment with similar seller-side advisory positioning.
• Strike Co., Ltd. Listed Japanese M&A intermediary focused on SME succession deals, leveraging bank and accounting firm referral channels. Operates a directly comparable business model to Owner's RISONAL M&A service.
• Nihon M&A Advisors: FA-style SME M&A advisory firm representing sellers on a fee basis. Closely comparable to Owner's exclusive seller-agent positioning and service pricing structure.

Emerging players

• Yamazen (Genbato Platform): Manufacturing-equipment trading company that operates the Genbato SaaS platform for manufacturing SMEs and is an active partner of Owner's. Comparable as a platform channel for SME owner-manager succession services, though operating from a non-financial-services base.

Broad incumbents

• Rakuten Securities: Japan's largest online brokerage and the principal IFA partner of Owner's RISONAL WEALTH service. Comparable as a financial product intermediation platform serving retail and mass-affluent investors in Japan.
• Money Design: Japanese robo-advisor and wealth management firm operating in the asset management and post-M&A wealth space. Comparable as an investment advisory and portfolio management platform serving Japanese retail and high-net-worth investors.
• WealthNavi: Leading Japanese robo-advisor offering algorithm-driven portfolio management services. Comparable as a competitor in the wealth management / post-business-sale asset management segment served by RISONAL WEALTH.

Regional players

• Yamato Capital Partners: Japan-focused M&A advisory firm serving SME succession transactions, with comparable sell-side advisory orientation though a more traditional (non-AI-augmented) operating model. Useful as a regional comparable for SME M&A intermediation in Japan.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Owner's