Sumitomo Chemical to Transfer Shares in Sumika Color
March 04, 2024 at 08:38 am EST
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Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. has decided to transfer its shares in Sumika Color Co., Ltd. ('Sumika Color') to Nippon Pigment Company Limited ('Nippon Pigment') and concluded a share transfer agreement with Nippon Pigment.
The transfer is scheduled to take place on April 30, 2024.
Objective
Sumika Color has engaged in the organic pigment, masterbatch, and resin compound businesses for many years. These businesses are facing a challenging business environment, including maturing markets in Japan and sharply rising raw material and fuel prices. After exploring how to restructure the businesses, Sumitomo Chemical has decided to transfer its share in Sumika Color, concluding that the best owner for Sumika Color is Nippon Pigment, which has strengths in high-dispersion technology, colorant and additive formulation technology, as well as production technology, and that Nippon Pigment's ownership of the business will be the best way forward to enhance Sumika Color's efficiency and maintain and strengthen its competitiveness.
The Sumitomo Chemical Group is currently accelerating the restructuring of its businesses as part of its short-term intensive performance improvement measures, based on profitability and the best-owner perspective. The Group will press ahead with these efforts to secure a stronger footing to achieve a V-shaped recovery in fiscal 2024, and lay the groundwork for fundamental structural reforms in the future.
Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd is one of the Japanese largest chemical groups. The group is also manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical products. Net sales break down by family of products as follows:
- petrochemical and plastic products (25.8%): ethylene, polyethylene, propylene, elastomers, agricultural films, etc.;
- pharmaceutical products (23.9%): ethic drugs, radiopharmaceutical products, etc.;
- telecommunication chemical products (18.9%): optic films, pigments, filters, etc.;
- agrochemical and fine chemistryproducts (18.5%): insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, food additives, etc.;
- functional chemical products (10.7%): methanol, caustic soda, aluminum hydroxide, alumina, nitric acid, acrylonitrile, active pharmaceutical ingredients, polymeric additives, resorcine, colorants, etc.;
- other (2.2%).
Net sales break down geographically as follows: Japan (31.7%), China (19.2%), Asia (19.5%), North America (17.7%), Europe (4.2%) and other (7.7%).
SUMITOMO CHEMICAL CO., LTD. 
