■Business Overview
2. Group structure
Japan Innovation Group ＜7814＞ is expanding its business by utilizing M&A, and as of the end of the 2023/12 fiscal year, the group consists of a total of 60 companies: the same company, which is a pure holding company, 36 consolidated subsidiaries, 9 equity law applicable subsidiaries, 4 equity law applicable related companies, and 11 companies not covered by 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 2023/3, 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.
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 has raised funds totaling over 1.6 billion yen 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. In order to respond quickly to changes in the business environment, such as progress in digitalization, and promote the provision of high value-added services in growth fields through group synergy, target companies are carefully selected from brought in M&A projects, and by accumulating excellent technology/customer/content assets, not only traditional printing and manufacturing technology, but also diverse design capabilities including products such as furniture, video creativity centered on 3D-CAD/3D-CG, stereoscopic sound, AR/VR We have built a unique corporate body called a professional group that has high specialized technology such as IT construction capabilities, etc., and that can comprehensively cover planning, printing, content product production, online promotion, media distribution, effect measurement, operation improvement consulting, etc. related to creative 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. develops 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.
Among the companies that joined the group in the 2023/12 fiscal year, Backstreet in the IT media sales promotion field performs production that responds to various needs, mainly images, events, music, and graphics, 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. Iijima Bookbinding in the printing field was founded in 1921 and is a general bookbinding company in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, with a history of over 100 years. In addition to the 3 plants in the Chukyo area, they also have 1 plant each in the Kanto area and the Kansai area, and they maintain production capacity at the highest level in the industry.
Among the companies that joined the group in the 2024/12 fiscal year, Co-bookbinding (PL consolidation will begin in 2024/4) is developing related services such as printed matter processing, bookbinding, shipping, and management. It is an enterprise that has high-quality bookbinding technology cultivated through a business history of more than 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. Mochizuki Printing (PL consolidation will begin in 2024/4) is developing a printing business rooted in the region based in Saitama Prefecture. Ascom (PL consolidation will begin in 2024/4) 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 has the ability to publish more than 200,000 copies of hit works even under the harsh environment surrounding the publishing industry, using high planning and editing ability as a driving force.
Furthermore, the company is also active in M&A outside of the metropolitan area, such as making Konishi Printing, which boasts the largest scale in Nishinomiya-shi, Hyogo in the Kansai area, a subsidiary in the 2022/12 fiscal year, making Taiko Advertising and Taisen Kobo Co., Ltd., which develops mainly in Nara prefecture, etc., and making Iijima Bookbinding, which is based in the Chubu area and also expanding into the Kanto and Kansai areas, a subsidiary in the 2022/12 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)