After a 600% rally, 'king of deals' prepares for post-smartphone future

Kainuma plans to cut more deals to muscle his way into connected cars and homes, what he sees as the next big thing in tech

Yoshihisa Kainuma has made a career out of being in the right place at the right time.

In 2015, the head of Japan’s Minebea Mitsumi Inc. was on a bullet train heading to a city northwest of Tokyo when he realized the chief of a potential acquisition target was onboard. He texted over his seat number and, during a one-hour ride, convinced his counterpart to sell his $500 million company.

“We grabbed the 6A and 6B seats and hashed it out on our way to Karuizawa,” Kainuma said during an interview at the company’s Tokyo headquarters. Three months later, he closed the