Daicel : Notification of Establishment of Joint Venture by Daicel Corporation and Inabata & Co., Ltd.

Daicel Corporation (Head Office: Kita-ku, Osaka; President & CEO: Yoshimi Ogawa; hereinafter Daicel) has entered into a stock purchase agreement and a joint venture agreement with Inabata & Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Osaka; President: Katsutaro Inabata; hereinafter Inabata) on February 29, 2024, and will establish Novacel Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Novacel). Novacel will commence operations on July 1, 2024 succeeding Daicel group's research, development, and sales in resin coloring and compounding. The SAN resin (polymerized products) and cellulose acetate resin businesses are not included in this agreement.

Daicel and Inabata have entered into the stock purchase agreement regarding the transfer of 66.7% stake of Novacel, which Daicel will establish to succeed the resin business conducted by Daicel Miraizu Ltd., Daicel Miraizu (Hong Kong) Ltd., Daicel Miraizu (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and Daicel (Asia) Pte. Ltd., to Inabata. Daicel and Inabata also have entered into the joint venture agreement regarding the operation of Novacel. The execution of this matter is subject to obtaining necessary notifications, approvals, consents or agreements from related authorities, including competition law clearance, in countries concerned.

As Daicel have been promoting the transformation of its business structure in line with the medium-term strategy "Accelerate 2025", it has strengthened its engineering plastics business by acquiring remaining stake of Polyplastics Co., Ltd. to make it a 100% subsidiary in 2020 and conducting other measures. In the medium-term strategy, collaboration and co-creation with other companies are also positioned as strategic axes, and Daicel have concluded that collaboration with other companies is essential for further growth in the general engineering plastics field where the resin business belongs, and that it is also the optimal choice for all stakeholders. We believe that combining Daicel's technical know-how in the resin business with the manufacturing know-how that Inabata possesses in its global presence will create significant synergies.

[Overview of Daicel Miraizu Ltd.]
Company Name: Daicel Miraizu Ltd.
Year of Establishment: 2020
Address of Head Office: JR Shinagawa East Building, 2- 18 -1 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Business: Sales of chemicals, resin compound products, household products and building materials

[Overview of Inabata & Co., Ltd.]
Company Name: Inabata & Co., Ltd.
Year of Establishment: 1918
Address of Head Office: 1- 15-14 Minamisemba, Chuo-ku, Osaka
Business: Sales and manufacturing of IT electronics, chemicals, consumer products, and synthetic resins

[Overview of Novacel Co., Ltd.]
Company Name: Novacel Co., Ltd.
Address of Headquarters : JR Shinagawa East Building, 2- 18 -1 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Capital: 50 million yen
Business: Research, development and sales of resin coloring and resin compounds

[Contact Information]
Daicel Miraizu Ltd.
Resin Business Division
[e-mail]