Ube Industries buying majority stake in Mitsubishi’s injection molding machine business

Japan-based Ube Machinery Corp. Ltd. is buying a majority stake in the injection molding business of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI), which is also headquartered in Japan.

In a statement, Ube Machinery said it will acquire an 85 per cent equity stake in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Plastic Technology “in order to secure the latter’s worldwide business in injection molding machines.”

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

The scope of the agreement includes the transfer of MHI’s injection molding machine sales bases “in the core overseas markets” of North America, China, and Thailand. “Other overseas sales bases will remain under MHI’s oversight, and efforts will be made to enhance their customer services,” the statement said.

Plans also call for the establishment of a sales company – which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Ube Machinery – to handle the injection molding machines marketed by Ube Machinery and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Plastic Technology.

“By pooling the respective strengths of the two companies, Ube Machinery will strengthen its sales and servicing capabilities through enhancement of its product lineup and sales network, reduce production costs, and improve development capabilities by integrating the two companies’ technologies in a quest to cope with the increasingly severe environment surrounding the injection molding machine business environment both in Japan and abroad,” the statement said. “The company’s aim is to achieve business expansion within the global market for injection molding machines by providing new value anticipating customers’ increasingly diversified needs.”

The deal is scheduled to close by January 1, 2017.