Mitsui to Acquire 30% Stake in North and South American Operations of Gestamp Automoción

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. MITSY has agreed with Gestamp Automoción, S.L. ("GA", Head Office: Madrid, President and CEO: Francisco Riberas), one of the world's largest manufacturers of automotive components, to acquire up to 30% stake in controlling companies of GA's North and South American operations ("GA's Americas Companies") and entered into definitive agreements on January 4th, 2013. GA's Americas Companies currently have a total of 15 plants in USA, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Subject to regulatory approval by relevant authorities, Mitsui will initially acquire newly issued shares of GA's Americas Companies through a third party allocation of newly issued shares for a 15% stake and also provide convertible loans, for a total amount of investments and loans of approximately €300 million (Approx. JPY 33.0 billion*)). After the conversion, Mitsui will ultimately be holding up to 30% shares of GA's Americas Companies. GA manufactures automotive components including body-in-white, chassis and mechanisms for automotive manufacturers primarily in Europe and the Americas. GA has grown along with automotive manufacturers' global business expansion, and with 98 production plants (including plants under construction), recently GA has become one of the world's largest global automotive parts manufacturers in terms of sales. Furthermore, GA has been contributing to automotive manufacture's efforts for fuel efficiency and safety performance through its world top-class expertise, including hot stamping technology, expected to be adopted by a wide range of automotive manufacturers in Europe and USA.