ITOCHU : Announces Strengthening and Expansion of Healthcare-Related Service Business in the United States

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter 'ITOCHU') announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Digital Networks Group (headquartered in California, the United States; hereinafter 'DNG'), which operates the businesses of designing and constructing audio-visual equipment (including video conference systems and digital display equipment) in California, the United States, via Telerent Leasing Corporation (headquartered in North Carolina, the United States; hereinafter 'TLC'), a U.S. subsidiary of ITOCHU.

TLC has the largest market share (approximately 40%) in the United States in the business of selling and installing display equipment (such as TV sets and displays) for hospitals, with a customer base of more than 2,500 hospitals. To increase service options for medical institutions, TLC acquired Avidex Industries LLC (headquartered in Washington, the United States; hereinafter 'Avidex') in 2012 and entered the business of designing and constructing audio-visual equipment.

DNG, which ITOCHU has agreed to acquire, is a major company engaged in businesses of designing and constructing audio-visual equipment in the healthcare, educational, and government sectors. With the market background described below, the acquisition of DNG is expected to lead to further growth because it will be able to provide consistent services ranging from design and construction to sales and installation within the company's own network.

In the healthcare industry in the United States, the use of TV sets and displays for hospital wards and patients' rooms have been growing, and services for medical institutions and patients are expected to develop further. In addition, the introduction of electronic charts has been expanding among medical institutions given government subsidies, and demand for display equipment and similar items linked to electronic charts and systems of departments is expected to rise in the future. The introduction of telemedicine and similar systems for reducing medical expenses is also expected. Thus, the market for audio-visual equipment for medical institutions is expected to expand rapidly.

ITOCHU is working on a broad array of services peripheral to medical services, such as sales of medical equipment in Japan and other countries, hospital private finance initiative (PFI) projects (projects involving the design, construction, equipment procurement, and operation of hospitals by harnessing the capital of private-sector companies), support for clinical development and sales of pharmaceutical products, and services that facilitate health checkup reservations and handle settlements. In addition, with regard to collaboration with TLC, ITOCHU benefits from TLC's customer base in operations such as selling products and services intended for hospitals in North America.

ITOCHU will have TLC, Avidex, and DNG work together to strengthen and enhance the healthcare-related service business in North America, each providing service skills and their expertise to the healthcare industry and thereby contributing to improving the quality of, and the level of satisfaction with, healthcare services in the United States. In addition, the companies will seek to develop new healthcare fields including home care in the future. In this way, ITOCHU is determined to fulfill its mission of 'Committed to the Global Good.'

TLC