Excert Operator IBT Sogo Kenkyujo Joins Microcity Group
The transfer places Excert, used by more than 500,000 people a year, under Microcity's development and operation resources, moving the platform to its next growth stage.
Reporting from 1 source: ASCII.jp.
IBT Sogo Kenkyujo, the operator of the online exam platform Excert, has joined the Microcity group. Smart Capital, whose investment fund held the shares, transferred them to Microcity. Finance Produce advised Smart Capital as sell-side financial advisor. Excert supports IBT and CBT testing with remote proctors and is used by more than 500,000 people a year.
Finance Produce took the sell-side advisory role at Smart Capital's request in early 2026, running the process from buyer search to final contract and closing. The deal moves shares held by an investment fund operated by Smart Capital into Microcity, a company focused on permanent ownership of industry-specific software. Excert handles the full exam flow, from application and testing to result notification, and uses remote proctors to prevent cheating in home exam settings. Finance Produce is a sell-side M&A firm founded in May 2021 through an MBO from Dream Incubator.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- ASCII.jp セルサイドFAとして、IBT総研社のマイクロニティ社への譲渡を助言