Macbee Planet's Group Strategy for Expanding the Business through M&A

Macbee Planet Inc., Representative Director and President Tomohiro Chiba

In recent years, M&A — mergers and acquisitions — has drawn growing attention as a means of corporate growth.

For high-growth companies in particular, M&A is highly effective in rapidly expanding the business footprint and strengthening competitiveness. One signature example is the strategy of Macbee Planet — a company whose presence in the digital marketing industry continues to grow.

To compete on equal terms with industry giants such as the Dentsu Group and Hakuhodo Group, Macbee Planet has driven strategic M&A and accelerated the growth of the group as a whole.

Based on interviews with Macbee Planet's management team, this article explores in depth the perspectives through which the company has framed and executed M&A.

We examine Macbee Planet's management philosophy — viewing M&A not merely as a means of expanding scale, but as a key strategy for industry reshaping and for raising enterprise value.

*Titles reflect those at the time of the interview. (Interview date: October 10, 2024)

M&A Strategy as a Lever for Business Growth

— Thank you very much for joining us today.

Macbee Planet provides data-driven marketing-analytics services, and the acquisition in 2023 of Net Marketing — a fellow player providing digital marketing services in the same industry — is still fresh in memory.

We have very much been looking forward to this conversation.

Thank you. The pleasure is mine.

— Macbee Planet has been actively pursuing M&A. Do you regard M&A as a deliberate company-wide strategy?

Yes — M&A is something we hold strongly as part of Macbee Planet's business strategy.

The advertising-agency industry has long-established mega-players such as the Dentsu Group and the Hakuhodo Group, and Macbee Planet is a later entrant of smaller scale.

To face the major firms on equal terms, we have actively pursued M&A — deliberately seeking the pieces we lack and growing in compressed time frames.

— Engaging the Dentsu Group and Hakuhodo Group on equal terms does call for a certain scale.

When did you start thinking about M&A in earnest?

It was after our IPO that we began considering M&A in earnest.

From the time of listing, we wanted to pursue large-scale M&A, but in the early days Macbee Planet itself was small in scale and large deals were beyond our reach.

So we began by reviewing relatively small deals and used the experience to build the organizational capability to execute large-scale M&A.

— Was the primary aim of the smaller M&A to build the organization for future large-scale deals?

Building the organization for future large deals was one aim, but the primary purpose was business growth aligned with Macbee Planet's stage at the time.

Of course, organizational build-out was not solely about M&A — we were establishing the corporate organization more broadly, with company growth (including M&A) in mind.

— I see. Then, when did you begin considering the M&A of Net Marketing — executed in January 2023 at a deal value of 5.4 billion yen?

Consideration of the Net Marketing M&A goes back to 2020, the time of our IPO — from the very beginning, Net Marketing was the company we most wanted to acquire.

At that point, Net Marketing's market cap was 12 billion yen and Macbee Planet's was 6 billion yen — by no means a company we could acquire.

We watched the timing of each company's market cap, and when the moment was right, we moved decisively to execute the M&A.

— You had been considering the M&A of Net Marketing since the early days of listing.

What aspects of Net Marketing did you find compelling?

The advertising industry has two large pillars — the Dentsu Group and the Hakuhodo Group — and to engage them on equal terms, we saw it as essential to scale up as quickly as possible.

In the digital-marketing domain in which Macbee Planet operates, the competitors at the time were essentially Net Marketing and one other company.

Taking into account compatibility on both employees and customer companies, we viewed Net Marketing as our M&A target.

Within customer-company compatibility, the fact that Net Marketing already worked with the customers Macbee Planet wanted was also a compelling factor.

— I see. So the M&A was framed with the intent of standing up to the Dentsu Group and Hakuhodo Group.

On the other hand, from Net Marketing's standpoint, was there concern about being acquired by Macbee Planet — a competitor?

That was one of the major points we paid close attention to in this M&A.

Our purpose in acquiring Net Marketing was to transform the advertising industry.

We communicated to Net Marketing CEO Mr. Yukie that by combining the two companies — Net Marketing and Macbee Planet — we could reshape the industry.

So we conveyed clearly that the purpose of the M&A was not simply to acquire a competitor and expand the business, and we took care to talk honestly through our genuine desire to transform the industry.

— M&A of a competitor can easily be misunderstood, so transparently conveying intent is essential.

Indeed. Because it was a competitor, we were mindful of holding a thorough dialogue to prevent misinterpretation.

We also did not want to create a perceived hierarchy between Net Marketing and Macbee Planet after the M&A, so we adopted a holding-company (HD) structure that places the two businesses side by side.

We are also careful with language — we avoid the term "subsidiary" and use "group," ensuring an environment in which everyone can engage the business as one team.

— When competitors become part of the same group, are there difficulties — differences in corporate culture or operating practices — in how staff work together and how decisions land on the frontline?

Between MAVEL (formerly Macbee Planet) and All Ads (formerly Net Marketing), there are no notable friction points among staff.

(After fully acquiring Net Marketing, Macbee Planet shifted to a holding-company structure, completed on November 1, 2023. With this transition, Macbee Planet Preparatory Company was renamed "MAVEL," and Net Marketing was renamed "All Ads." Reference: URL)

Engineering and corporate functions sit in HD, and MAVEL and All Ads each have their own sales functions — common functions are placed in HD.

We also acquired Alpha in 2021, and Alpha's engineers continue to contribute in the engineering function as is.

— So each acquired company and each individual is engaged where they fit best.

Organizational Engagement in the Engineering Function That Supports Growth

— At Macbee Planet, what kind of motivation drives those working in the engineering function?

Many of those working in engineering are motivated by sharpening their own skills and career.

In sales functions, internal teams often pursue the same client, and who closed which deal becomes visible — which can lead to friction.

Engineers, on the other hand, tend to respect each other's individual capability, and rather than compare with others, they place real weight on whether they are delivering value.

To raise engineering motivation, Macbee Planet also holds study sessions to share leading global examples — both to help engineers gauge how their own capability fares in the market and to bring in fresh knowledge.

— I see. Then, as a group, how do you increase the gravitational pull on engineers?

Our CTO Tsuyuki is exceptional, and engineers commit to their work with him at the center; the engineering organization itself takes a pyramid shape with Tsuyuki at the top.

Conversely, however, the issue is that the gravitational pull depends heavily on the CTO.

Also, since the engineering function sits within HD, it is somewhat distant from the businesses and products — engineers cannot commit 100% directly to advancing the businesses and products, which is another organizational issue.

— So the engineering function is built around CTO Tsuyuki.

Given that engineering is removed from the businesses and products, does product accountability sit with another function?

No. Accountability for product development sits with HD's engineering function, while the business units carry accountability by business (the affiliate business, the listing-ads business, and so on).

On the other hand, structurally, engineers focus on product development and their commitment to the business itself becomes thinner.

So organizationally, we see today's issue as the absence of a leader who owns each product end to end — from development through scale-up.

Ideally, each business unit (MAVEL, All Ads, and so on) would have a dedicated engineering organization that commits from product development through business scaling — that would be better for business growth.

— Given the trade-offs of this challenging issue, how are you thinking about the engineering organization going forward?

Our view of the current organizational issue is that we lack bridge roles connecting the engineering function with the business units.

Tying that issue to M&A — even if we acquired an engineering-led company and gained its engineering organization and customer base, it would remain plainly difficult to bridge with our existing businesses.

So the ideal M&A target is a company that carries business-development or engineering functions with advertising-industry experience.

— The need for business-development capability that bridges engineering and the business units is high.

Given Macbee Planet's environment, what qualities and capabilities do you look for in business-development talent?

There are many forms of business development we need, but we emphasize two elements.

First, the ability to assemble many management resources.

Second, industry tenure — and the ability to predict, from market environment, data, and voices on the frontline, that "this is what is going to come."

To break through, we believe these two elements must be linked together skillfully.

— Those two elements are demanding, but essential.

Do you have a specific profile in mind — a particular career background that fits?

For business development, we see ex-consultants performing well.

As I mentioned, Macbee Planet's current issue is the absence of a leader who owns each product from development through scale-up, and a shortage of bridge roles between engineering and the business units.

One element of consulting work is taking the lead and bringing together people from various fields — so ex-consultants tend to fit.

Likewise, from the standpoint of engaging widely across the company and understanding the business deeply, those who have led corporate planning at small- or mid-sized ad agencies or digital-marketing firms also tend to perform well.

— Indeed, ex-consultants and corporate-planning leaders seem to fit Macbee Planet.

On the other hand, when ex-consultants move to an operating company, I think there is a need to shed some of the consultant DNA — how do you see this?

Shedding consultant DNA is, indeed, important.

What is needed is to bring people along and drive the business — at an operating company where everyone is engaged in the business, becoming a critic who only speaks about the ideal must be avoided.

And of course, hiring a single person cannot resolve the current issues, so we want to build a team to address them.

On the other hand, the team-up concept is still in the hypothesis stage — at present, we are at the point of describing the kind of organization we want to build.

— M&A often looks fine on paper — on PowerPoint or Excel — before execution, but in many cases it does not match a company's existing resources.

Looking at Macbee Planet's engineering function, PMI seems to be running well around CTO Tsuyuki. What has the CTO been doing to build that gravitational pull?

Our CTO Tsuyuki uses tools like Slack to create a mechanism for smooth information sharing, and early on he actively shared what he had researched and noticed in his work.

He also actively organizes internal engineering presentations so that many people come to recognize each other's work.

Beyond regular work, off-sites and similar gatherings — centered on Tsuyuki — also help bring the team together.

Beyond management capability, new joiners who do not yet know Tsuyuki's engineering ability often hold the impression that "Tsuyuki is said to be exceptional."

He does not leave it at impression — by showing his own statements and his way of working, Tsuyuki deliberately makes his engineering ability and skill visible.

— Showing your attitude toward work and your capability firsthand matters.

When I was 28, I acquired a company whose average age was 40. At first, they looked at me as "what can this young person do," but by acting and showing, I earned their understanding — an experience I will not forget.

Cultural Integration and the Evolution of the Management Structure

— Comparing before and after the Net Marketing M&A, what gaps did you notice?

On the business side, I did not feel a major gap before or after the M&A.

On the other hand, I was surprised by a gap in a good sense.

At the time of the M&A, Macbee Planet was a company about seven to eight years from founding, made up of mid-career hires — while Net Marketing was nearly 20 years old, with a very different history.

Net Marketing's frontline capability was, of course, high, but I also felt firsthand the strength of the corporate organization.

Gaining the strength of corporate governance through the M&A was thus a positive surprise.

— Establishing corporate governance becomes essential as the organization and business expand.

What specific governance changes did you make after the M&A?

We have the person who held the same role at Net Marketing leading our current corporate-governance function.

He is very strong in management controls, and thanks in part to his work, we believe we were able to move up to the Prime Market on the exchange.

— I see. On the other hand, when someone from the acquired company leads corporate governance, were there any concerns on Macbee Planet's side?

From the outset, Macbee Planet's management — including me (Chiba), our CTO Tsuyuki, and our EVP Head of Corporate Planning Kawakami — included many mid-career hires who became directors and executive officers, so there were no particular concerns.

Beyond organizational structure, a strength of Macbee Planet's culture is its readiness to actively adopt better ways of doing things — we keep changing, and in a good sense, we have no fixed "color."

We have done many M&A deals, and rather than fighting internally, we keep adapting to the environment and engage each day with the belief that what matters is the growth of the group as a whole.

— Because you keep adapting, M&A-driven organizational change is framed as an update.

Macbee Planet has people from many backgrounds — how do you analyze the factors that drove your growth?

The transition of Representative Director and President from the founder Kojima to me, Chiba, was, I believe, the turning point that accelerated growth.

Of course, this does not mean growth was slow under Kojima — rather, Macbee Planet's growth phase shifted.

When acquiring a company, even if Kojima did not intend it, from the perspective of the company being acquired, some people may view it negatively — as coming under the umbrella of a founder-led firm.

On the other hand, with Chiba — who is not the founder — serving as Representative Director, people resonate with the idea of changing the market and the industry together, which makes it easier to flex the organization and businesses in line with the environment.

Also, Chiba is good at drawing out people's strengths. With people from many backgrounds, the organization — centered on Chiba — enables each person to bring their strengths to bear.

— Mr. Chiba's presence has been significant in Macbee Planet's growth, including through M&A.

Macbee Planet has executed many M&A deals in a short span, so guiding the organization purely through corporate culture is difficult.

So we place real weight on bringing out each individual's talent to the maximum.

We also welcome leaders — including those at executive level — from acquired companies, and we make sure to build an environment in which they can fully exercise their capabilities.

Revenue Model and Organizational Strategy That Drive Competitive Advantage

— Compared with competitors such as CyberAgent, the Dentsu Group, and the Hakuhodo Group, how do you see Macbee Planet's strengths?

Companies like CyberAgent, the Dentsu Group, and the Hakuhodo Group set their compensation from clients largely around fixed fees or commission-based fees, rather than performance-based fees.

Macbee Planet, by contrast, takes only performance-based compensation. That is the most fundamental difference relative to others — and the source of our strength.

Looking at the contrast between performance-based and fixed compensation through what you commit to: fixed compensation commits to producing deliverables, while performance-based commits to the results of the levers used.

This boils down to who carries responsibility for the client's ultimate revenue — the client, or the agency.

By stepping into the higher-risk performance-based model, Macbee Planet allows clients to invest with reduced risk.

Taking on risk to commit to outcomes is Macbee Planet's strength — and the element that differentiates us.

— I see. It is something only a firm confident in its own services can do.

Organizationally, how do you see your company compared with others?

Compared with CyberAgent, the Dentsu Group, and the Hakuhodo Group, organizational scale is on an entirely different order.

*Macbee Planet: 159 people (consolidated; as of April 2024); CyberAgent: 7,720 people (consolidated; as of September 2024)

Dentsu Group: 71,127 people (consolidated; as of December 2023); Hakuhodo Group: 15,910 people (consolidated; as of March 2024)

On the other hand — to put it a bit sharply — I see large agencies not as having "a lot of people," but as having "surplus people."

When an organization has surplus people, you need to create work for them — and you are pushed to broaden the business footprint whether you want to or not.

Macbee Planet plans hiring and structure with per-person productivity and disciplined business scope as preconditions — that is what shows up as the difference in organizational scale relative to others.

— An environment in which each person can work with high productivity matters. You mentioned earlier the importance of an environment where individuals can bring their strengths — what do you keep in mind to keep employees highly motivated?

To keep employees highly motivated, we provide opportunities for them to take on higher positions and responsibilities.

Macbee Planet is still a small organization, and as a company, we are growing — so positions are open.

Going forward, to keep creating positions through M&A and hiring, we have to keep growing as a company.

— Is the environment one in which each person can raise their hand and take on what they want to do?

Yes — capability and trust are preconditions, of course, but it is an environment where each person can actively take on what they want to do.

If someone has the ambition to spin up a subsidiary and manage it, that is possible too.

Setting up a subsidiary is primarily aimed at growing the business at the group level, but it also matters greatly from a perspective of talent development and retention.

Each person's genuine desire is a must, and the area must also be one that does not overlap with existing businesses.

And the head of a group company must understand the company's budget along with the group-wide budget — so the ability to build a business plan is also among the requirements.

— It is wonderful that an environment exists where what each person wants to do can become reality, based on their capability and intent.

— How is hiring conducted across Macbee Planet's group companies?

We have been setting up subsidiaries frequently — at present, the group has eight companies (as of September 2024).

Headquarters cannot handle hiring for all group companies, so each group company shares the hiring activities, and each has its own hiring budget.

— How do you delineate between HD and group companies, and how do you manage the group companies?

In short, we strike an appropriate balance.

We could split HD and group companies completely and run businesses separately, but we have not taken that approach.

Because business units inside the parent can be less agile, we set things up as subsidiaries so each leader has the latitude to run the business.

— Is there a difference between an HD division head and a subsidiary CEO in terms of talent development and organizational management?

It is often said that, in terms of personal growth, the head of a subsidiary grows more than a division head — but I feel it depends on the person.

On the other hand, becoming a subsidiary CEO clearly reveals a person's character.

For instance, a number of division heads in HD end up building their own "castle" and retreating into it.

Subsidiary CEOs do not need to build a castle — being CEO means the castle is already theirs, and they tend to focus on the moves required to grow the subsidiary.

Strategy for Expanding the Customer Base Through M&A

— Where do you see the strength of Macbee Planet's customer base?

Macbee Planet's customer base is strong in the securities industry — we transact with the vast majority of securities firms, and including the breadth of services we provide, we are confident we do not lose to competitors.

Even if a few mid-sized securities clients were replaced by competitors, Macbee Planet's buying power is such that the balance does not tip.

For example, if a client we support on affiliate marketing wants to do listing ads, they consult us — and even if Macbee Planet alone cannot cover it, we can introduce a group company and support the client within the Macbee Planet sphere.

This is not unique to the securities industry — across the advertising industry's customer bases, it holds equally for other industries.

To establish a business in the digital-marketing industry, the most important move is to take ground in each industry and consolidate.

— So it comes down to the degree of consolidation in each industry. Then, when a client asks for support in an area where Macbee Planet is thin, how do you respond?

If no company across the Macbee Planet group can cover it, that becomes hard — but it is hardly an overstatement to say we can address almost any request.

We have pursued M&A precisely to broaden the areas we can cover. Macbee Planet and Net Marketing were both in digital marketing, but they covered different areas, so today the scope we can address is quite broad.

— The consulting industry is structured similarly. Even for areas we have not directly experienced, if it falls within a group company or partner firm's domain, we can cover it — so broadening areas matters.

So consulting is structured similarly.

In June 2024 we acquired PR CloudTech, gaining the ability to address the "awareness" area of digital marketing — clients are now coming to us with awareness-related requests as well.

Before acquiring PR CloudTech, we specialized in the "acquisition" area of digital marketing. With the PR CloudTech acquisition, we can now also address the "awareness" area, which grows the prospect pool that ultimately drives "acquisition."

— I see! As your coverage broadens, your relationship with clients deepens, leading to company-scale expansion. The digital-marketing industry and M&A really go well together.

Exactly — the digital-marketing industry and M&A have very high affinity, and if we put Macbee Planet in a different industry, the closest model is GENDA in the entertainment industry.

Many companies in the digital-marketing industry have outstanding individual services.

On the other hand, addressing a client's larger problems is often beyond what any single service can do.

So by bringing those companies into the Macbee Planet group, we can tackle clients' bigger problems together.

Vision and Connections Are What Move the Business

— Has PR CloudTech's performance been on track from the start?

I am told that PR CloudTech's performance has been strong since founding.

Nakajima, who serves as PR CloudTech's CEO, was previously at Recruit and Rakuten, and served as CSO at Vector.

Even after going independent at PR CloudTech, Nakajima has continued to receive engagements through long-standing executive relationships.

— Connections among people really matter when advancing a business.

Yes — Nakajima's network is different from Macbee Planet's management network, and it is a tremendous asset.

Nakajima spent the IT-bubble era at CYBIRD and is on close terms with leaders such as Mr. Uno of USEN — he will casually say things like, "If you want to talk with someone at USEN, I'll mention it to Mr. Uno."

Macbee Planet's executives also have different networks, so together we cover a broad set of industries and domains.

— You also leverage executives' networks to broaden the scope of the business.

Is there anything you are mindful of when talking with potential customers' executives?

Specialized knowledge in digital marketing alone is not enough to converse with executives on equal footing — obvious as it sounds, I always make a point of understanding the client's position and engaging from an executive perspective.

In terms of substance, I tie the conversation to Macbee Planet's strength in digital marketing — PR and customer acquisition tend to be executive-level matters, so I make sure to listen to their challenges in those areas.

Sometimes the conversation turns to the core of digital marketing.

Since I (Chiba) am a bit removed from the day-to-day frontline of digital marketing, when I feel I cannot keep up, I make a point of pulling the discussion up a level to the higher question — and using it to set up the next meeting.

— Are you also pursuing partnerships and joint proposals with other companies?

To broaden the scope of our proposals, we are pursuing joint proposals, but the cases that actually get to execution are limited.

As an example with the Hakuhodo Group, we are running joint initiatives with Hakuhodo DY ONE.

The Hakuhodo Group consults us in the affiliate-advertising domain. From Macbee Planet's perspective, this broadens the scope of our proposals and lets us engage with the Hakuhodo Group's customer base — so we pursue it.

— When taking on new domains or new businesses, broadly speaking, there are two paths — M&A and standing them up in-house. How do you delineate between the two?

We have many things we want to do as new businesses or in new domains, but when standing them up in-house, the issue is that the pool of people who can lead a business or subsidiary is limited.

And even when we have someone who could lead, most of them are already at full capacity in existing work.

So M&A — which lets us bring in the business along with an organization that is already standing — is very valuable.

As I noted earlier, "digital marketing" × "M&A" is highly compatible, and the return on investment is high.

Going forward, considering the organizational environment of each company and the external environment, we will continue to evaluate M&A and in-house stand-up.

— What do you see as the motivation for people from acquired companies to keep working at Macbee Planet?

We often pitch acquisition targets with the question, "Will you get on the same ship with us, toward the big picture we are drawing?"

As I mentioned, with the Net Marketing M&A, executives and employees bought into the excitement of "by managing and running the business together, we may be able to do something bigger" — and that has become a source of motivation.

On the other hand, if the founder-CEO of an acquisition target thinks "I want to do this my own way," that does not fit.

And depending on generation and individual — especially among CEOs of non-listed companies — there is a meaningful share of people who aspire to manage a listed company.

— So the group companies are coming together around the big picture.

I have also served as a director of a listed company, and before becoming a director, I was one of those people who aspired to manage at a listed company.

Indeed.

To accelerate the business further — and for their own growth — there is also a meaningful share of CEOs who want to manage alongside other CEOs.

PR CloudTech's Nakajima is running other businesses as well, and we hope to bring those into Macbee Planet to create synergies and move them forward.

— When venture capital (VC) backs a company before its IPO, the company is often pushed to sell at a high valuation. From an acquirer's standpoint, how do you think about that?

We make a point of executing M&A at a fair price, and to share the upside with management and employees, we set the deal price a little lower and set incentives after the M&A to be higher.

On the other hand, when I shared this view at a seminar attended by many VCs, the VC audience was rather unimpressed.

That said, when pursuing M&A of a VC- or PE-backed company, you need a creative deal structure that works for the target, the VC or PE, and yourself — we are always looking for a path that benefits all sides.

Evaluation and Compensation Design in Integration

— How are pay scales and incentive design operated across HD and the group companies?

Personally, while I see stock options (SO) as effective for employees, I also believe bonuses are functioning more powerfully.

Within the group, there are multiple pay scales and incentive designs.

As the group grows, the questions to think through multiply and it becomes more difficult.

Initially after the Net Marketing M&A, we moved with the aim of unifying these — but rigid, by-the-book attempts often do not work.

So at present, we interview other companies that have done M&A and integration, and iterate every day.

— Defining a uniform approach as the group grows is difficult.

You cannot design pay scales or evaluation systems that satisfy everyone.

Have you noticed anything in particular from those interviews?

We have interviewed companies that have executed many M&As — LINE, Yahoo!, Carta HD, and others — and we draw on their ideas and experience.

On pay-scale and incentive design, we heard that even in those firms, it is not uncommon for subordinates to earn more than their managers — and I resonated strongly.

They also said that managers are aware of subordinates' higher pay — and only people who can accept that situation remain in the organization.

As more companies join the Macbee Planet Group, this will only become more complex. We will keep the original systems and designs of the group and each company while making dispassionate judgments when needed.

— Subordinates earning more than their managers happens at other companies as well.

I also feel that the past assumptions no longer hold.

Indeed.

On the other hand, even though pay scales and incentive design differ company by company, we run group-wide programs — for example, restricted shares (RS) available to employees across the group — to bring everyone together.

— I see. Overall, organizational design in PMI for M&A is highly demanding — forcing uniformity often does not work, which makes it a difficult problem.

I am always conscious of why a company joining the Macbee Planet Group has chosen to do so with us.

On the financial side, Macbee Planet Group does not offer a particularly high price to acquisition targets, so people join with motivations beyond money — career and meaningful work — and we view them as partners in remaking the industry.

And in PMI, it is critical that the incoming CEO can explain to employees the reasons and aims for joining the Macbee Planet Group — and earn their understanding.

— Indeed. To strengthen the conviction and persuasiveness of the CEO's rationale, choosing not to do the highest-priced M&A is itself sometimes the right move.

I would say that is part of it.

When the M&A price runs too high, employees' perceptions of management can change — that is human psychology.

Financial Strategy That Brings Financial Institutions to Your Side

— Executing the Net Marketing M&A with a full loan was impressive.

Why did you choose a full loan?

We chose a full loan because we did not have abundant cash on hand, and we wanted to preserve cash for future growth — placing real weight on investment optionality.

— Were there points you emphasized in communication with financial institutions?

We place real weight on day-to-day communication with financial institutions. The bank representatives were not rigid — they were genuinely thoughtful about better M&A schemes and stood by our side.

We also committed to using that bank for future capital raising.

Some of those commitments were oral, but in day-to-day business, the banks came to trust that Macbee Planet's management would deliver.

There was also a time we considered an M&A where another company valued the target at three times what we did and acquired it — we lost on that M&A, but the result was that the acquirer had overpaid.

As a result of that episode, the banks placed greater trust in Macbee Planet's DD capability, and even today they say, "For M&A deals that Macbee Planet has done DD on, we can lend with confidence."

— Are there any covenants attached to the M&A borrowing?

Within the general range — maintaining the acquired company as a group company, ratios of earnings to interest, and similar items — there are no particularly tight conditions.

Every day, we operate with the intent of becoming a priority client for the banks.

— Are there points you emphasize in day-to-day communication with financial institutions?

We make a point of building a balanced, mutually beneficial relationship with the people in charge at banks and brokerages.

When the bank's relationship lead with Macbee Planet sees an increase in lending to us, their own internal standing also rises, which means they work harder — and that is a real help to us.

And as a matter of human nature, people are happy to be praised, and many have a strong drive for advancement.

In that context — small but meaningful — when a bank's CEO visits us, mentioning that we have a good relationship with their relationship lead pleases both the CEO and the relationship lead, which makes it easier to build an even better relationship.

— The foundation of business does come down to person-to-person trust.

Thank you for this interview, which has been rich in lessons.

We will continue to cheer on Macbee Planet's further growth!

About Macbee Planet Inc.

Macbee Planet is a fast-growing company built on the concept of LTV marketing — predicting consumer LTV (lifetime value) and optimizing advertising to support advertisers' growth.

By agreeing to acquire Net Marketing — a peer of similar scale in performance-based internet advertising — the company expanded its scale and is leading the market as an LTV-marketing pioneer.

Company name: Macbee Planet Inc.

Address: 3-11-11 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Tomohiro Chiba, Representative Director and President

Securities code: 7095

Founded: August 25, 2015

Business: Performance-based marketing

Corporate website URL: https://macbee-planet.com/