Notice regarding transfer of Ricoh Industrial Solutions optical business

TOKYO, October 6, 2023 – Ricoh Company, Ltd. (President and CEO: Akira Oyama) announced that it has resolved and concluded Share Transfer Agreement to transfer its optical business presently developed, produced, and sold by Ricoh Industrial Solutions Inc. (President and CEO: Hiroshi Takemoto) to a newly established company managed and operated by T Capital Partners Co., Ltd. (President and Managing Partner: Koji Sasaki). This includes products such as automotive stereo cameras and optical lens modules used in projectors.

1. Overview for the subject business

The optical business to be transferred is one of Ricoh Industrial Solutions core businesses, consisting of:

1. “Automotive business” that manufactures and sells automotive stereo camera modules for the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) market, as well as key parts for automotive HUD (Head Up Displays);
2. “Projection business,” which manufactures and sells lens modules for laser TVs and other products, and projection lens modules for projector manufacturers;
3. “Edge sensing business,” which manufactures and sells special lens arrays, industrial lenses, etc.

All of these products make use of the optical unit development and manufacturing technologies and precision molding technologies cultivated in the MFP and camera businesses.

2. Background and purpose

The subject business develops, manufactures, and sells the above-mentioned products using optical technologies that give it a competitive edge, and has developed its business with stable and highly qualified customer base. Ricoh's in-vehicle stereo camera modules have been highly acclaimed in Japan's domestic market and have been the foundation of this business. Ricoh is currently expanding this technology to industrial stereo camera modules for forklifts and other applications. There are many other potential usages that are being considered. In addition, amongst projector lens modules, Ricoh's ultra-short throw lenses used in laser TVs are highly regarded, and take advantage of its own aspherical lens and mirror components. The company's technology is also being used in the automotive business, where growth is expanding through the mass production of PGU (Picture Generation Unit) for in-vehicle HUD.

The transfer of the subject business is being carried out to enable it to further accelerate its growth strategy by developing its business globally as a manufacturing company with solid technical expertise. T Capital Partners to which the business is being transferred has a wealth of manufacturing knowledge across multiple industries and has accumulated expertise relate to subject business. In addition, T Capital Partners has expertise in hands-on value-added activities for invested companies and has track records of achieving business growth for those companies. The automotive stereo camera business is expected to expand its sales both domestically and internationally by leveraging T Capital Partners expertise in marketing, sales, financing, and other areas. Inorganic growth is also expected for industrial stereo camera business due to its market expansion, as T Capital Partners will proactively give funds and human resources to the business.

Therefore, Ricoh has concluded that the subject business will have the greatest opportunity to further grow and prosper with T Capital Partners.

3. Transfer scheme

(1) Ricoh Elemex AT Corporation (President: Masayuki Kumagai), a subsidiary of Ricoh Elemex Corporation (President and CEO: Yasutomo Mori), will absorb the precision parts business into a newly established subsidiary of Ricoh Elemex, (2) Ricoh Industrial Solutions will absorb its optical business into Ricoh Elemex AT, and (3) Ricoh Elemex AT's all shares will be transferred to a newly established company managed and operated by T Capital Partners (hereinafter this share transfer).

4. Schedule

Ricoh and T Capital Partners aim to complete this share transfer by the end of June 2024.