Sumitomo : Integration of Domestic Steel Building Material Businesses

We hereby announce that Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. (MISI) (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Yasuo Matsuura) and Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura) have agreed to integrate their domestic steel building material businesses. This agreement will become effective only upon the approval of the relevant authorities in Japan and abroad.

1. Companies and business categories involved
(i) Marubeni-Itochu Techno Steel Inc. (MITS) (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Atsushi Hiramoto)
(ii) Sumisho Tekko Hanbai Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Kiyotaka Kawasaki)

With regard to the three companies below, their respective steel building material businesses will be spun off and integrated together:

(iii) Sumitomo Corporation Hokkaido Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Sapporo City, Hokkaido; President: Takayuki Doi)
(iv) Sumitomo Corporation Tohoku Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Sendai City, Miyagi; President: Hideyuki Imayoshi)
(v) Sumitomo Corporation Kyushu Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka; President: Hiroaki Mizobuchi)

2. Objectives and aims of the business integration
While demand for domestic construction in Japan is currently growingdue to infrastructure building in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as urban redevelopment projects, it is recognized that the construction market will eventually become mature over the long term.
With such background, MISI and Sumitomo Corporation have reached an agreement to integrate their domestic steel construction material businesses with the aim of expanding service functionality for manufacturers and users.

The integrated company will direct its efforts toward reinforcing the particular strengths of each company's business as well as leveraging the networks of the three integrated trading companies, namely, ITOCHU Corporation, Marubeni Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation, to mutually complement each other. Furthermore, through combining and integrating human resources, product and service lineups and networks, we will seek to better serve our stakeholders, including customers and employees.

Through the new steel building material business, we will also seek to accelerate recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, ensure the safety and security of local people and revitalize affected communities.

3. Overview of the integrated company
The integration will be achieved through a merger, with MITS as the surviving company.

(1) Name: Marubeni Itochu Sumisho Techno Steel Inc.

(2) Number of shares held by MISI: 2,940,000 (66.7%); and by Sumitomo Corporation: 1,470,000 (33.3%)

(3) Effective date of the merger: January 1, 2016 (subject to change)

(4) Representative: President and CEO Atsushi Hiramoto (current President and CEO of MITS)

(5) Head Office: Tokyo (current address of MITS)

(6) Scale: Consolidated sales of approx. 420 billion yen

(7) Consolidated number of employees: Approx. 450

(8) Overview of the companies and business categories to be integrated