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-City, 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).
 | |
 Headquarters in Okayama | |
Native name | 株式会社ベネッセホールディングス |
|---|---|
| Formerly | Fukutake Publishing (1955-1987) Fukutake Shoten (1987-1995) Benesse Corporation (1995-2009) |
| Company type | Private KK |
| Industry | Educational Services |
| Founded | January 28, 1955 |
| Headquarters | Okayama, |
Key people | Eikoh Harada (President) |
| Revenue |  JPY 430.064 billion (2017) [1] |
| JPY 7.685 billion (2017) [1] | |
 JPY 3.557 billion (2017) [1] | |
| Owner |
|
Number of employees | 21,022 (consolidated) (2017) [1] |
| Subsidiaries | Berlitz Language Schools |
| Website | benesse |
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-City, 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$1.78 billion (¥270 billion).[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]