OREANDA-NEWS. September 09, 2014. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (Representative Director and President: Kosei Shindo, “NSSMC”), regarding the transfer of the entire shares of capital stock in NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN Electronics Devices Inc. (Representative Director & President: Hidemasa Nakajima, “NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN Electronics Devices”), a 100% subsidiary manufacturing and selling ceramics for the electronic industry, to NGK INSULATORS, LTD. (Representative Director and President: Taku Oshima, “NGK”), has reached agreement with NGK today, as follows:

NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN Electronics Devices started operation in Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1970, has manufactured and sold high-performance ceramics packages for semiconductors and electronic parts, utilizing electrical characteristics of ceramics, and, given high customer confidence, has steadily evolved. For electronic parts and components, because demand for much further miniaturization and higher performance are predicted, it will be the first requisite of business growth to possess greater materials-development and layer-building technology.

Under such circumstances, NGK, a leading manufacturer of electronic insulators and ceramic products for automotive exhaust purification, offered NSSMC with a proposal for acquisition of stock in NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN Electronics Devices and NSSMC entered into negotiations. As a result, concluding that the conduct of business in cooperation with NGK, which possesses high technological strengths, competent people, equipment and other management resources in the area of ceramic materials will highly contribute to the business development of NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN Electronics Devices, NSSMC has agreed on terms and conditions with NGK and decided this share transfer.

Working toward the goal of being “the world’s leading steelmaker with comprehensive strengths”, NSSMC will continue its quest for enhanced competitiveness and further development of the whole group by an optimum and efficient utilization of the managerial resources.