Toyo Tire & Rubber : Tires becomes Premium Sponsor of AC Milan

Osaka, Japan - 11 April, 2014 - Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka, President & CEO: Akira Nobuki) announces that an agreement has been concluded today to support AC Milan (Associazione Calcio Milan), the renowned world-class football club, as a Premium Sponsor, commencing from today until June 2016*.
*Contract period: 2013-14 (remaining three months), 2014-15, and 2015-16 seasons

Toyo Tire & Rubber is involved in a wide variety of business activities on a global scale with a focus on the production and sale of tires as its' main activity. Our management is currently shifting to a stage of further growth based upon the strengthening of various business bases to which we have devoted attention over the past few years.

Seizing the opportunity of this business expansion, we will begin to actively take advantage of sponsorship of a sport that boasts overwhelming international popularity to influence our global branding content.

AC Milan, a club in Serie A, one of the leagues at the pinnacle of football competition, is a prestigious club, ranked number one in the world in international titles. The team always demonstrates an all-out, aggressive style of play which transcends the weight of the tradition the club has built.

We believe that supporting this powerful, individual and genuinely proficient club will contribute to improving the global presence of the TOYO TIRES brand and, in turn, will allow us to more clearly bring out the potential premium image of the products we offer. This partnership can be expected to bring significant advantages to the TOYO TIRES brand in the medium term in each market where there is impassioned potential for football such as the Middle East and Russia, where we are contemplating market expansion, China, which is positioned as a key market, Southeast Asia, and Japan in addition to the EU, with a focus on Italy, home to the Serie A league.

The importance of our global branding strategy has been increasing in light of Group business development. Supporting a club home to top athletes is a new opportunity to further increase brand prestige for all TOYO TIRES stakeholders including our customers around the world; we are going to actively publicize our partnership with AC Milan at a variety of touch points.

It should be noted that we are the first Japanese company to conclude a Premium Sponsorship deal with AC Milan. The leaders of both companies have the following to say about this agreement:

■Barbara Berlusconi, AC Milan Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, said;
"We are delighted to welcome Toyo Tires as a premium partner of the club. Our shared values of performance and excellence lie at the heart of this relationship. It is also a Partnership which reflects the global reach of our Club and we are honoured to be working with a global brand such as Toyo. We look forward to building even stronger links with our many fans in Asia through this partnership".

■Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. President and CEO Akira Nobuki said;
"Companies must win the support of customers amidst fierce global competition. We wish to superimpose ourselves as a global player in the tire industry through the beloved AC Milan club, nurtured under the strict eyes of the Milanista, unforgiving of sloppy performances, and obtain a great deal of knowledge. The corporate attitude of TOYO TIRES, committed to the world, is expressed in our brand statement "driven to perform" (in pursuit of the best performance). We are honored to take this opportunity to support AC Milan, a club that conforms to our spirit, and we will share our heart as one of the many fans around the world to build a bridge of support."

About Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1945. Capital of 30.4 billion yen. Toyo Tire has been developing a broad range of products with a focus on automobile tires such as automotive anti-vibration rubber, urethane products, and industrial rubber products, etc. based on the company's original technology. Toyo Tire has production bases in Japan, the U.S., China, and Malaysia, and supplies products to markets around the world. In the year ended December 31, 2013 the company recorded a record high 370.2 billion yen consolidated net sales and 37.2 billion yen operating profit. The company expects to break this record by recording 400 billion yen consolidated net sales and 40 billion yen operating profit in the year ended December 31, 2014.

As well as providing the ultra-high-performance tire flagship brand "PROXES" worldwide beginning in Europe, Toyo Tire will roll out its "NANOENERGY" series of fuel-efficient tires, which have acquired the highest grade under world-leading Japanese tire environmental performance standards, globally. Thanks to the company's advanced technical capabilities, its large diameter SUV / pickup truck tires also have a good reputation and many fans in the U.S.