Mitsui partners with Toshiba to foster digital transformation
Mitsui will acquire a 20% stake in Toshiba Digital & Consulting through a third party allocation of newly issued shares.
Digital transformation has been high on the agenda of financial services providers, with another example offered earlier today, as Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd (TYO:8031) has announced a partnership with Toshiba.
As per the announcement, Mitsui will invest in Toshiba Digital & Consulting with the aim of accelerating digital transformation. Mitsui will acquire a 20% stake in Toshiba Digital & Consulting through a third party allocation of newly issued shares. The acquisition is scheduled to take place on October 1, subject to regulatory approval by relevant authorities.
The partners note that the rapid development of IoT, AI, and other digital technologies is bringing about a revolutionary transformation in business areas and business models. Toshiba and Toshiba Digital Solutions established Toshiba Digital & Consulting on April 2, 2018 as a new business entity in order to create new economic value by accelerating digital transformation through co-creation with its customers, utilizing IoT, AI, and other advanced technologies.
Mitsui aims to sustainably create new value using digital technology in line with the “Driving Value Creation” theme of Mitsui’s Medium-term Management Plan. Equity participation in Toshiba Digital & Consulting is set to enable Mitsui to create new business and realize digital transformation in business assets owned by Mitsui and its group companies across a wide range of industries.
Mitsui has previously demonstrated its interest in AI-driven technologies. In December last year, Mitsui announced an investment into Preferred Networks, Inc (PFN), a company that specializes in AI technology development and provision, with the focus being on deep learning. Mitsui said it had invested approximately ¥500 million to subscribe to a third-party allotment of new shares by Preferred Networks, Inc.
Mitsui stresses that with the advent of the IoT/big data society, industrial structures are being transformed on a global scale by AI and other digital technologies. In its new Medium-term Management Plan, “Driving Value Creation”, which was announced in May 2017, Mitsui presented the “The Sustained Creation of New Value” as its vision for the future. As stipulated in the plan, Mitsui positions advancing digital transformation initiatives, utilizing AI and the IoT, as a key measure for reinforcing its innovation capabilities.
