Latest news with #JIC
CNA
21-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Japan's JIC says JSR's weak financials do not affect chipmaking consolidation goal
TOKYO :State-backed JIC's private equity arm said its goal of driving consolidation in Japan's chipmaking sector through portfolio firm JSR is unaffected by weak financial performance at the photoresist maker. Japan Investment Corp took JSR private last year in a $6 billion deal with the materials manufacturer saying it planned to make deals. However, JSR ended the year in March with an operating loss of 209 billion yen ($1.45 billion). "Our goal was to take JSR private and ... through a series of industry reorganisations, such as mergers with similar companies or rivals ... to significantly grow the semiconductor business and enhance international competitiveness, leading to re-listing," JIC Capital CEO Shogo Ikeuchi said in an interview. "That goal hasn't really changed at all even now," he said. JSR has replaced top management and embarked on restructuring, with its new CEO telling Reuters that the firm is not ready to make acquisitions. The company's struggling life sciences business has pulled down its earnings. JSR has agreed to sell part of the business to Tokuyama Corp in an 82 billion yen deal. JIC's buyout of JSR has been controversial in the industry, with some questioning the need for such intervention and prospects for successfully reshaping the sector. "Japan is a country where restructuring is structurally difficult," Ikeuchi said. JIC was set up in 2018 to invest in companies with the goal of boosting Japan's competitiveness and is overseen by the trade ministry. JSR previously said it aims to relist in five to seven years. That is still the plan, though an earlier listing is possible, said Ikeuchi, a former executive at staffing firm Recruit. The CEO of JSR peer Resonac, Hidehito Takahashi, in February said his firm was interested in being involved in JSR when JIC exits.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Japan's JIC says JSR's weak financials do not affect chipmaking consolidation goal
TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - State-backed JIC's private equity arm said its goal of driving consolidation in Japan's chipmaking sector through portfolio firm JSR is unaffected by weak financial performance at the photoresist maker. Japan Investment Corp took JSR private last year in a $6 billion deal with the materials manufacturer saying it planned to make deals. However, JSR ended the year in March with an operating loss of 209 billion yen ($1.45 billion). "Our goal was to take JSR private and ... through a series of industry reorganisations, such as mergers with similar companies or rivals ... to significantly grow the semiconductor business and enhance international competitiveness, leading to re-listing," JIC Capital CEO Shogo Ikeuchi said in an interview. "That goal hasn't really changed at all even now," he said. JSR has replaced top management and embarked on restructuring, with its new CEO telling Reuters that the firm is not ready to make acquisitions. The company's struggling life sciences business has pulled down its earnings. JSR has agreed to sell part of the business to Tokuyama Corp (4043.T), opens new tab in an 82 billion yen deal. JIC's buyout of JSR has been controversial in the industry, with some questioning the need for such intervention and prospects for successfully reshaping the sector. "Japan is a country where restructuring is structurally difficult," Ikeuchi said. JIC was set up in 2018 to invest in companies with the goal of boosting Japan's competitiveness and is overseen by the trade ministry. JSR previously said it aims to relist in five to seven years. That is still the plan, though an earlier listing is possible, said Ikeuchi, a former executive at staffing firm Recruit (6098.T), opens new tab. The CEO of JSR peer Resonac (4004.T), opens new tab, Hidehito Takahashi, in February said his firm was interested in being involved in JSR when JIC exits. Resonac is one option among many, Ikeuchi said, noting the chip materials maker's debt burden. ($1 = 144.3800 yen)
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JSR's incoming CEO signals focus on finances, retreat from sector M&A ambitions
By Sam Nussey and Miho Uranaka TOKYO (Reuters) - The incoming CEO of Japanese chip materials maker JSR plans to focus on restoring the company's business performance, shifting away from previous ambitions to drive consolidation in the sector. JSR's financial performance is not good, and the company is not ready to make acquisitions, Tetsuro Hori, who will assume the CEO role on April 1, said in an interview on Wednesday. "We need to recover the life science business. This is the first priority," he said. The company's business performance has deteriorated, affected by losses in its life sciences unit, sparking industry speculation that JSR may attempt to sell the division. "JSR might not be the best owner of the life science (business), that's what I'm thinking right now," said Hori, adding that nothing has been decided and the business' performance would need to improve before any potential sale. Under outgoing CEO Eric Johnson, JSR was taken private by the state-backed Japan Investment Corp (JIC) last year in a $6 billion deal. Johnson had argued that the buyout would free JSR, a leading maker of photoresists for chipmaking, from the challenge of managing its foreign investor base, enabling the company to pursue sector deals. However, the transaction has been controversial, with some in the industry questioning whether JSR could successfully make deals that would significantly reshape the sector. Hori said that M&A must be supported by customers, and they must also create value. Hori joined JSR as chief financial officer in January, and had previously served as an executive at chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron. Hidehito Takahashi, the CEO of chip materials maker Resonac, said last month that he would like his company to be involved when JIC exits JSR. "If we can find some good synergy probably those deals could be on the table," Hori said, adding that he hasn't had discussions with Resonac. JSR booked a net loss of 22.2 billion yen ($148 million) in the six-month period ended September 30. Hori hopes to return the business to profitability by the next financial year, which ends in March 2026. ($1 = 150.3800 yen) Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
27-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
JSR's incoming CEO signals focus on finances, retreat from sector M&A ambitions
TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - The incoming CEO of Japanese chip materials maker JSR plans to focus on restoring the company's business performance, shifting away from previous ambitions to drive consolidation in the sector. JSR's financial performance is not good, and the company is not ready to make acquisitions, Tetsuro Hori, who will assume the CEO role on April 1, said in an interview on Wednesday. "We need to recover the life science business. This is the first priority," he said. The company's business performance has deteriorated, affected by losses in its life sciences unit, sparking industry speculation that JSR may attempt to sell the division. "JSR might not be the best owner of the life science (business), that's what I'm thinking right now," said Hori, adding that nothing has been decided and the business' performance would need to improve before any potential sale. Under outgoing CEO Eric Johnson, JSR was taken private by the state-backed Japan Investment Corp (JIC) last year in a $6 billion deal. Johnson had argued that the buyout would free JSR, a leading maker of photoresists for chipmaking, from the challenge of managing its foreign investor base, enabling the company to pursue sector deals. However, the transaction has been controversial, with some in the industry questioning whether JSR could successfully make deals that would significantly reshape the sector. Hori said that M&A must be supported by customers, and they must also create value. Hori joined JSR as chief financial officer in January, and had previously served as an executive at chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron (8035.T), opens new tab. Hidehito Takahashi, the CEO of chip materials maker Resonac (4004.T), opens new tab, said last month that he would like his company to be involved when JIC exits JSR. "If we can find some good synergy probably those deals could be on the table," Hori said, adding that he hasn't had discussions with Resonac. JSR booked a net loss of 22.2 billion yen ($148 million) in the six-month period ended September 30. Hori hopes to return the business to profitability by the next financial year, which ends in March 2026. ($1 = 150.3800 yen)
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Resonac Explores Deal Structures for Possible JSR Takeover
(Bloomberg) -- Resonac Holdings Corp. is studying deal structures for a possible acquisition of government-owned chip linchpin JSR Corp., a key step in the chemicals maker's ambition to corner the Japanese AI semiconductor materials market. Why Barcelona Bought the Building That Symbolizes Its Housing Crisis Por qué Barcelona compró el edificio que simboliza su crisis inmobiliaria Trump Child Refugee Agency Shares Data With Immigration Enforcers A Filmmaker's Surreal Journey Into His Own Private Winnipeg Now controlled by state-backed Japan Investment Corp. following a $6 billion buyout, JSR is the world's largest maker of photoresists — a light-sensitive material crucial for mapping circuit patterns onto silicon through a process called lithography. 'We've become overwhelmingly strong in many chip chemicals, but we don't own one for lithography,' Hidehito Takahashi said in an interview. 'We need that to be able to say we are a Japan-born specialty chemicals company with a substantial global market presence.' The 62-year-old executive last year said Resonac hopes to be involved when JIC exits JSR. On Wednesday, Takahashi said he's doing 'mental exercises' and simulating potential deal structures and the partners that such a move might require. Shares of Resonac erased its gains and fell 3% on the news. The bulk of the world's photoresist is made in Japan, home to JSR competitors Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Fujifilm Holdings Corp. as well as Sumitomo Chemical Co. The JSR buyout, blessed by the country's economy ministry, was aimed at kicking off much-needed consolidation. 'Japan should have far fewer photoresist makers because the market size is not big enough to keep all of them profitable,' Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Masahiro Wakasugi. Takahashi said he's ready to bet big on JSR should an opportunity present itself, although he may not be as bold as in the $7 billion deal he orchestrated for Hitachi Chemical Co. in 2020. At that time, Hitachi Chemical's value was twice that of Showa Denko KK, Resonac's precursor. JIC has said the fund will seek to sell JSR shares in five to seven years. 'As long as it's a price that I can defend to our shareholders, I'm willing to explore various frameworks to make a deal happen,' Takahashi said. The Tokyo-based company is a supplier of crucial materials used to make cutting-edge semiconductors that underpin artificial intelligence. The company, once known for traditional materials such as graphite, has been overhauling its business portfolio to focus on chip-related products, such as non-conductive film and thermal interface materials needed to yield reliable production of high-bandwidth memory. 'I want JIC and the Japanese government to know that we are the best partner for JSR and for shoring up the country's chip material industry,' Takahashi said. (Updates with share price reaction, background and analyst commentary) Before DeepSeek Blew Up, Chatbot Arena Announced Its Arrival The Startup That Stepped In When the Baby Formula Supply Chain Broke The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk's Texas Gigafactory The Unicorn Boom Is Over, and Startups Are Getting Desperate Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can't the US Get It Right? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
