Ricoh and Toshiba Tecs’ Strategic Business Integration; The Details from Ricoh

In a joint announcement from Ricoh Company, Ltd. and Toshiba Tec Corporation, a significant business integration agreement has been reached between the two entities. They have mutually agreed to pool resources in the development and production of multifunction printers and related devices (MFPs) in a bid to strengthen their position in the rapidly digitalizing office environment. This integration involves procedures such as a company split, culminating in the formation of a joint venture, slated to become effective between April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024.

The decision is rooted in current market trends and environmental changes, largely influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which expedited the transition to a more digitized, remote work setting. Both Ricoh and Toshiba Tec are planning to focus on developing IT solutions that can aid digital transformations in offices as the demand for such services grows. This joint venture will leverage each company’s technological strengths, optimize production processes, build resilient supply chains, and focus on the reuse and recycling of used MFPs. It will also collaborate on the planning and development of new solutions utilizing the respective technologies and resources of the two companies.

The business integration will be implemented mainly by an absorption-type split, resulting in the Joint Venture succeeding Ricoh’s Business and Toshiba Tec’s Business. The investment ratio in the Joint Venture after the business integration will be 85% by Ricoh and 15% by Toshiba Tec. It’s noteworthy that both the Ricoh Absorption-type Split and the Toshiba Tec Absorption-type Split will be conducted as simplified absorption-type splits, under Article 784, Paragraph 2 of the Companies Act, without obtaining approval at the shareholders’ meetings of both companies. Both companies assure that the Joint Venture’s assets will exceed its liabilities after the split and don’t anticipate any situation that might hinder the fulfillment of their obligations.