■Business Overview
2. Group structure
Japan Development Group ＜7814＞ is expanding its business by utilizing M&A, and as of the end of the 2nd quarter of the 2024/12 fiscal year, the group consists of the same company, which is a pure holding company, and 62 subsidiaries/affiliated companies (38 consolidated subsidiaries, 13 companies applying the equity method, and 11 companies not subject to the equity method).
As for M&A for the 2023/12 fiscal year, Backstreet Co., Ltd. was made into an affiliate applying the equity method in March, Great International Co., Ltd. became a consolidated subsidiary in June, shares of Iijima Bookbinding Co., Ltd., which was an equity method applied related company, were additionally acquired and made a consolidated subsidiary (made a wholly owned subsidiary in 2023/9), and shares of Gogo Productions Co., Ltd. were acquired in December to make it a subsidiary. Meanwhile, shares of Kyokoro Co., Ltd., an unconsolidated subsidiary subject to the equity method, were transferred in June and excluded from the scope of application of the equity method. Also, in July, the consolidated subsidiary Nikkei Printing Co., Ltd. absorbed Nikkei Land Co., Ltd., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nikkei Printing, in November, the consolidated subsidiary Tokyo Rismatic absorbed Bianco Co., Ltd., an unconsolidated subsidiary subject to the equity law, and Tokyo Rhythmic absorbed and merged the consolidated subsidiary Asti Co., Ltd. in December.
In the 2024/12 fiscal year, Kyodo Book Binding Co., Ltd. absorbed and merged with Seioh Printing Co., Ltd., which is a consolidated subsidiary of the company, in February, and the company acquired shares to be issued by Kyodo Bookbinding in connection with the merger, and made Kyodo Bookbinding a consolidated subsidiary. It also acquired shares of Mochizuki Printing Co., Ltd. and made it a consolidated subsidiary, and undertook a third-party allotment of shares from Ascom Co., Ltd. and made it a consolidated subsidiary. In July, PT FUNBOX MANUFACTURE INDONESIA, which is an overseas subsidiary (specified subsidiary), was established in Indonesia through joint investment between the company and its consolidated subsidiary Funbox Co., Ltd. In August, some shares of STUDIO ARC Co., Ltd. were acquired and made into an affiliated company applying the equity method (shareholding ratio 37.50% after acquisition, deemed acquisition date 2024/9).
Note, Image Magic (7793), a company related to the equity method, was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers (currently Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth) in 2022/3. Alpha Code Co., Ltd., an affiliate company not subject to the equity method, is a venture company that performs VR imaging and distribution data production, etc., and is raising funds from video-related companies such as WOWOW ＜4839＞ and Nippon Television Holdings ＜9404＞.
The company is also expanding its business by utilizing M&A, but the purpose of the M&A strategy is not the only expansion of scale. The purpose is to quickly respond to changes in the business environment, such as progress in digitalization, and to build up excellent technology, customers, and content assets in order to promote the provision of high value-added services in growth fields through group synergy. As a result of M&A, the company has not only traditional printing and manufacturing technology, but also various design capabilities including products such as furniture, and highly specialized technology such as video creative power centered on 3D-CAD/3D-CG, stereoscopic sound, and IT construction capabilities including AR/VR, and is creative in planning, printing, content product production, online promotion, media distribution, effect measurement, operation improvement consulting, etc. related to creative services It is a unique corporate entity called a professional group whose strength is “power to create,” which can cover total services.
Among the companies that joined the group in the 2022/12 fiscal year, in the printing field, Ringston Co., Ltd. plans, manufactures, and sells packaging/packaging materials and sales promotion products, mainly shop bags. In the IT media sales promotion field, Diamond Heads Co., Ltd. is developing a wide range of businesses, such as planning brand strategies, planning campaigns and promotions, and producing graphics, WEB, and movies. Barquin Style Co., Ltd. was founded in 2008/9 as a model management business, and has produced many top models from over 150 affiliated models. One Publishing Co., Ltd. owns regular magazine brands that are widely and deeply recognized, such as “GetNavi” and “Mu,” and is also expanding into fields such as e-books and SNS. Taiko Advertising Co., Ltd. is a specialized company that develops total sales promotion centered on outdoor advertisements and traffic advertisements, and has built an excellent customer base. Japan Broadcast Solutions Co., Ltd. (hereafter, JBS) has engineering services for facilities such as broadcasting stations, museums, stadiums, theaters, and schools as its core business.
In the product field, Funbox plans and manufactures fancy character stationery and miscellaneous goods, sells and rents gacha gacha (capsule toys), and Medicos Entertainment Co., Ltd. sells figures, creating new value. In addition, FiveStar Interactive Co., Ltd. is strengthening the provision of solutions to the DX field as a Five Star Group with Mu-Signal Co., Ltd. and Rokunana Co., Ltd. as subsidiaries from 2022/7.
Among the companies that joined the group in the 2023/12 fiscal year, Iijima Bookbinding in the printing field was founded in 1921 and is a comprehensive bookbinding company in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, which has a history of over 100 years, and maintains production capacity at the highest level in the industry. Backstreet, in the IT media sales promotion field, mainly produces images, events, music, and graphics to meet various needs, and mainly plans and produces video content for young children. Great International is a design production company whose ancestral business was creative work for TV shows. Gogo Production is a “comprehensive manufacturing x entertainment production” that develops comprehensive services related to costume, from planning, production, and sales of costume shows to education/dispatch of performers. The head office (Kichijoji, Musashino-shi, Tokyo) operates a dance studio for children, and is also focusing on training future actors.
Among the companies that joined the group in the 2024/12 fiscal year, joint bookbinding in the printing field is developing services related to printed matter processing, bookbinding, shipping, management, etc. It is an enterprise that has high-quality bookbinding technology cultivated through a business history of over 110 years since its establishment, and has particular strengths in thick bookbinding. It is equipped with a wide range of business items, from magazines, books, textbooks, picture books, catalogs, and calendars to school teaching materials and sample books, and provides a one-stop service including post-processing, assembly services, and transportation and delivery. Furthermore, due to a merger with Seioh Printing, which is a consolidated subsidiary of the company (the surviving company is a joint bookbinding company), the business base was taken in and restarted as a general printing and binding company.
Mochizuki Printing is a general printing company centered on commercial printing, with a business history of over 60 years in Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture. In order to further strengthen community-based proposal capabilities, the sales department's base has been moved to a location close to Omiya Station, and proposals for one-stop services that make maximum use of group infrastructure are being promoted.
Ascom in the IT media sales promotion field is developing book publishing etc. in the business/economic/education/lifestyle practical genres. In addition to the trusting relationships with famous companies and celebrities that it has cultivated since its establishment, it is a publishing company that can produce hit works of 0.2 million units or more even under the harsh environment surrounding the publishing industry, using high planning and editing ability as a driving force. It also provides marketing and branding support for companies in the BtoB area.
Furthermore, the company is also active in M&A outside of the metropolitan area, such as making Konishi Printing Co., Ltd., which boasts the largest scale in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture in the Kansai area, a subsidiary in the 2022/12 fiscal year, making Daiko Advertising and Taisen Kobo Co., Ltd., which develops business mainly in Nara Prefecture, etc., and making Iijima Bookbinding, which is based in the Chubu area, a subsidiary in the 2023/12 fiscal year. Priority areas have not been specified in particular, but as a result, a system is being built to enhance synergy creation within each area of Kanto, Chubu, and Kansai.
(Author: FISCO Visiting Analyst Masashi Mizuta Exhibition)