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Benesse Corporation (ベネッセコーポレーション, Benesse Kōporēshon) is a Japanese company which focuses on correspondence education and publishing. Based in Okayama, it is the parent company of Berlitz Language Schools, which in turn is the parent company of ELS Language Centers. Benesse is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (listing code 9783).
The company name is derived from the Latin words "bene" (well) and "esse" (being).
History
The company was founded in 1955 as Fukutake Publishing Co., Ltd. (株式会社福武書店, Kabushiki-gaisha Fukutake Shoten) by Tetsuhiko Fukutake, a publisher of educational materials. In 1986, Soichiro Fukutake succeeded his father as president on the latter's death.[2] His son Hideaki Fukutake is a company director.[3]
In 1994, the company completed the construction of the Fukutake Shoten Tokyo Building (now Benesse Corporation Tokyo Building) in Tama, Tokyo. In April 1995, the company was renamed Benesse Corporation.
A major breakthrough in the company's history was the acquisition of a majority stake in Berlitz Language Schools, which had gone public in 1989. In 2001, Benesse completed the take-over by acquiring 100% ownership of Berlitz and making it a private company once again.
In 2023, Swedish private equity firm EQT AB together with Benesse's founding family announced their intention to buy the company and take it private in a deal valued at US$1.78billion (¥270billion).[4] On March 3, 2024, it was announced that EFU Investments Ltd. and a fund managed by BPEA EQT completed the purchase of a 70.1% stake in Benesse.[5]
Benesse Foundation
The Benesse House is a 10-room hotel located inside a contemporary art museum, the Benesse Art Site, on the island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea.[6] Built in 1992, it was designed in partnership with architect Tadao Ando.[6] It was built by the Benesse Foundation which is funded by the Benesse Corporation.[6]
Franchises
Benesse is the originator of the Kodomo Challenge educational program,[7] which debuted in April 1988 and introduced three young-animal mascot characters: Shimajiro the tiger, Torippi the parrot,[N 1] and Ramurin the sheep.[8] These characters, along with later 1991 addition Mimirin the rabbit,[8][N 1] would appear in a long-running series of Shimajiro anime starting in 1993.[9]
Notes
^ abNames to the left of the slashes are the original Japanese; those to the right, the English ones used in WildBrain Spark's dub.
