Ricoh : forms capital alliance with Cybozu

TOKYO, 2022 - Ricoh Company, Ltd. announced today that it has formed an alliance capital with Cybozu Inc. Cybozu will dispose of its treasury share through a third party allotment. Ricoh will allot 1,740,000.00 Cybozu common stock to Ricoh. This represents 3.30% of Cybozu’s total outstanding shares following the disposal of treasury share through the same third party allotment. It also represents 3.66% voting rights. The capital alliance will allow the companies to further strengthen and develop their cooperation and create a long-term, deep partnership to accelerate their digital service businesses' development in Japan and worldwide. The two companies formed a Digital Services Business Alliance on April 27, 2022 to accelerate digital transformation (DX), in Japan and worldwide. They have encouraged personnel exchange between digital professionals and engineers in the field near customers. In October 2022 they launched the cloud-based platform for business improvement "RICOH kintone Plus" in Japan. Ricoh's cocreation platform "RICOH Smart Integration" links "RICOH kintone PLUS". It is based on Ricoh’s business improvement knowledge, which has been developed through providing issue-adaptation services for SMEs and responding to requests from "kintone(r)." customers. Ricoh also created original plug-ins, templates and integrations for "RICOH kintone Plus" as well as Ricoh's multifunction devices. We support our customers in their efforts to "improve business operations lead by front-line workers" through combining Cybozu’s low-code/no code development capabilities with Ricoh’s problem-solving capabilities via its global sales system and support system. Both companies will gradually increase the geographical scope of their businesses in the U.S. by FY2022, then Europe and other regions. Cybozu will use the capital alliance funds to grow its cloud infrastructure. This will include the enhancement of server hardware. It will also help to develop Cybozu's organization and structure. In anticipation of "RICOH Kintone Plus", Cybozu will use these funds to purchase server equipment and expand cloud infrastructure. Cybozu will also invest in marketing and personnel expenses in the U.S. as this will be the first step in global expansion. This will help to build and sustain a stronger organization structure by combining Ricoh’s strong customer base with Cybozu’s U.S. business knowledge. Ricoh and Cybozu are working together to harness their creativity and support future growth and competitiveness of customers. They will also contribute to the DX "work" initiative for companies and organizations. This is achieved by supporting information sharing and streamlining business processes using digital technology. Disclaimer Ricoh Company Ltd. published the content on December 20, 2022. It is solely responsible. Duration: Auto. 2 months 3 months 6 month 9 months 1 year 2years 5 years 10 years max. Mean consensus OUTPERFORM Number Of Analysts 13 Last Close price 1 030,00 JPY Average Target Price 1 303 46 JPY Spread/Average Target 26,5%