Since its founding in 2013, ASNOVA Co., Ltd., headquartered in Aichi Prefecture Japan (‘ASNOVA’), has specialized in scaffolding rental services for construction sites. Turning ten years in business, the company has decided to diversify its business and considered M&A as one of their key business strategies to achieve its diversification plan. ASNOVA selected their first target in Singapore, Qool Enviro Pte Ltd (‘Qool’), portable toilet rental company in April 2025. Nihon M&A Center Inc (‘NMA’) interviewed Mr. Keiji Ueda, president of ASNOVA, about the company’s M&A strategy.

(June 3, 2025)

NMA: Please describe and elaborate on ASNOVA’s business activities and strength

Mr. Ueda：We are specializing in the rental of scaffolding used at construction sites. We purchase scaffolding from manufacturers, rent it to scaffolding contractors, and after the work is completed, it is dismantled and returned to our warehouse called equipment center. By meticulous quality control for maintenance, we have established a business model that allows us to efficiently reuse these limited resources.

The company was founded in 2013. The reason we focused on scaffolding is in Japan, the demand for repairs and renovations of houses and apartment buildings has been increasing due to the deterioration over time while there is a permanent shortage of scaffolding at construction sites nationwide. In addition, there is an increasing need for scaffolding for disaster prevention and reconstruction work as Japan often experiences a variety of natural disasters.

To date, we have procured a total of approximately 17 billion yen (≒SGD 150 million) worth of scaffolding, which is the largest inventory in Japan. With 39 equipment centers nationwide, we have established a system that allows customers to rent scaffolding “anytime, anywhere, and with peace of mind”. Leveraging our swift operations and solid customer base, we have kept high utilization rate and record-high sales and EBITDA.

In April 2022, ASNOVA listed on the Nagoya Stock Exchange Next Market, in the same year we established a subsidiary in Vietnam. In December 2023, we also listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market.

NMA: ASNOVA went public within 10 years of their existence and subsequently carried out its first acquisition in its history in Singapore. When were you aware of the concept of M&A?

Mr. Ueda: We have a management policy of limiting large-scale investments in a single business to a maximum of 10 years. We foresee the continuous demand for scaffolding rental service so that we wanted to enter new businesses while our core business is solid. M&A is one of the ways to achieve our business plan and diversification.

We went public on the Growth Market just 10 years after starting business, so we began serious consideration of M&A less than a year after listing. Our strength lies on “the rental business” therefore we started by focusing on rental businesses in the construction sector and then extended to the rental business in general. We considered nearly 10 domestic companies however we concluded that none of them met our criteria. We decided to immediately shift our focus to overseas opportunities.

The first place that caught our attention was Singapore. The country has a strong connection with Japan, its political and social stability, on top of that, it is very attractive market in terms of the growth potential of ASEAN region. We believe that Singapore is an ideal location to serve as a regional hub when we expand our business to other ASEAN countries in the future.

NMA: What attracted you to Qool Enviro while considering these 2 key requisites, which is “Singapore” and “Rental business”?

Mr. Ueda：The first company we considered was a tentage rental company. We thought that tents were similar to scaffolding and would allow us to leverage our strengths however, when we actually leant its business, we realized that it was not easy to understand so we decided not to pursue this target. Qool is a company that rents portable toilets and when we looked at their financial statements, we immediately felt that it was a good company. 

What caught my attention was EBITDA and rental assets. Qool surpassed the level of EBITDA margin which consider ‘excellent’ for the listed company. 5 years depreciation period for portable toilets is the same as scaffolding and we can continue use these assets for many years with good maintenance and generating revenue. Qool has been using some assets for over 16 years since its incorporation. We found the maintenance of portable toilets is less demanding than that for scaffolding. We could discover these advantages because we understood the business of equipment rental.

NMA: Being in the same industry allows ASNOVA to understand the attractiveness of Qool’s business. What are the most difficult aspects of cross-border M&A in your opinion?

Mr. Ueda：While language and cultural differences could be barriers, we found these challenges as an opportunity. Regardless of the country, what business leaders look for is, “Can I really trust this person?”. We felt Qool managements were also looking at the same things: the leader’s passion for the business and attitude toward their employees. I heard that Qool had been approached by several investors in the past, but they did not proceed because both management styles didn’t align. The top management meeting, where both parties find each management style, is an important indicator of whether M&A will be successful.

NMA: How did you proceed with PMI?

Mr.Ueda：As this was our first M&A, we prepared a 100-day plan well in advance and that make us extremely smooth progress. Most effective implementation was to organize one-on-one meetings with all employees that we started the day after the M&A closing. Being able to communicate directly with every employee at an early stage, using interpreter, helped us understand individual concern and establish the mutual trust.

We also assign a staff from Japan as a person in charge of PMI, based in Singapore. We have online monthly meetings with the current and next management team. By utilizing technology such as an automatic translation system, we are able to overcome the language barrier and communicate without any problems.

NMA: Please tell us about the future growth, vision and M&A strategy

Mr.Ueda：I took the leadership for this first M&A project but for ongoing, we plan to have a M&A team and establish a process which we can systematically proceed 3 to 5 M&A projects a year. I thought when we successfully completed the first M&A project, the subsequent projects would naturally come to us. That is exactly what happened, and we have already several attractive opportunities in the pipeline.

Our rental business strategy is to “accumulating small things to achieve big things”. We will target ASEAN region, form partnerships with smaller companies and once we reach a certain scale, we will form partnerships with companies of similar size. We believe that the next three years will be a crucial period, and we will use our experience to increase our speed to expand the market. A Part of diversification, we have an overarching plan of “circular business”. We expect to finalize the detail by the end of this year and very excited to see how it will develop and be evolved. 

NMA: How was the support provided by our M&A consultants?

Mr. Ueda：I believe that this project may not be achieved without their professional supports. After we expressed our intentions, the consultant visited the target numerous times and professionally communicated even the most difficult points to reach a conclusion. Their knowledge and information on cross-border M&A and Singapore companies made them a very reliable partner.

NMA: Based on your experience, please share a message for business leaders who are considering M&A

Mr.Ueda：Cross-border M&A is often perceived as challenging which, I strongly disagree. For example, in Singapore, companies with a certain revenue and asset must undergo financial audit. In other word, their financial statements are comparable and reliable to those of listed companies. This ensures high transparency in management and provides reassurance to the buyer. The ASEAN region, which is expanding in both population and economy, is particularly attractive and there are many companies which could be ‘hidden treasures’ just because language and cultural barriers, no one discover them yet. When you see challenges as an opportunity, I believe it is worth taking that first step.