Through the acquisition, the company aims to shrink its commodity-grade petrochemical operations, which are facing intense competition from Middle Eastern and Chinese rivals, while embracing Mitsubishi Rayon's carbon fiber and water treatment membrane businesses.

By becoming a Mitsubishi Chemical subsidiary, Mitsubishi Rayon "aims to strengthen our business foundation, including our financial health, to drive global business expansion", president Masanao Kanbara said.

The company has become the world's top acrylic resin material producer, following the acquisition of U.K.'s Lucite International Group Ltd. in May. But the 150 billion yen purchase also put a dent in Mitsubishi Rayon's financial health.

According to Mitsubishi Chemical's announcement Thursday, its tender offer for a 100 per cent stake in Mitsubishi Rayon will run from early February until the end of March. At 380 yen (US$4.27) per share, the offering price is 40 per cent higher than Mitsubishi Rayon's closing price of 271 yen Wednesday. Any shares in Mitsubishi Rayon that Mitsubishi Chemical does not own at the close of the tender offer will be converted into Mitsubishi Chemical shares via a stock swap.

The merger of Mitsubishi Chemical and Mitsubishi Rayon will create the world's sixth-biggest comprehensive chemical firm, passing U.S. firm DuPont. The two Mitsubishi group firms' combined sales would come to around 3.5 trillion yen annually.

(Nikkei) rw

According to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, as a part of preparation for the strategic alliance with Morgan Stanley, the initiative will separate the supervising functions and the business execution functions with respect to all the securities business operations within the Mitsubishi UFJ Securities group of companies in order to concentrate each function to facilitate more timely decision making.

The preparatory company will be established, capitalized 100% by Mitsubishi UFJ Securities. After registration to engage in financial instruments business and receiving other necessary permits and approvals, through a company split, the preparatory company (whose corporate name is planned to be changed to Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Company) will succeed to the business operations currently being undertaken by Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, and the preparatory company and the divisions of Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Company, such as the investment banking divisions, will be consolidated.

Mitsubishi UFJ Securities will become an intermediate holding company, and change its corporate name to Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Company.

Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Company will hold current domestic and foreign subsidiaries and affiliated companies of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

Following establishment of the preparatory company, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities and the preparatory company will enter into a company split agreement providing to the effect that the current business operations of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities shall be succeeded to by the preparatory company through the split.

The agreement will be approved by the extraordinary meeting of shareholders of the two companies. The effective date of the split is planned for April 1, 2010, subject to all the necessary permits and approvals being granted and all other actions and procedures necessary for the split being taken.

As at the implementation of split, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities will not transfer its obligation under any outstanding notes (except for commercial papers (short term notes)) issued by it and any notes (except for commercial papers (short term notes)) to be issued by it before the split to the preparatory company.

Mitsubishi UFJ Securities will continue to hold the status and rights and obligations as the issuer of such notes after the split becoming effective.

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"This is a first in every sense of the word," said Mr. Tomoki Yanagawa, MMSCAN's Vice President Sales/Marketing & Corporate Planning, as he presented the vehicles to British Columbia Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Blair Lekstrom, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, and BC Hydro President & CEO Bob Elton during a ceremony held here this morning. "The i-MiEV is the world's first highway-capable, mass-production electric car. It's a first for Vancouver, and a first for North America. This is history in the making."

Provincial and local leaders underscored that the Canadian debut heralds the beginning of a new era of green technology that will further the worldwide goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"We are very proud to demonstrate our leadership in climate-friendly transportation by having the first Mitsubishi all-electric cars right here in British Columbia," said Minister Lekstrom. "Electric vehicles like these ones, fuelled by clean, renewable energy, will help us achieve a low-carbon transportation future."

Mayor Robertson echoed those remarks. "Vancouver is at the forefront of adopting electric vehicles, and we're very pleased to be debuting Mitsubishi's i-MiEV in our City," he said. "Supporting cleaner, more efficient forms of transportation moves us closer to our goal of becoming the world's greenest city, and we're very excited to partner with Mitsubishi in bringing their new electric vehicle technology to Canada."

This significant event represents the first time that regular production all electric vehicles designed and built by a major international manufacturer have been put into service on public roads in North America. The i-MiEV is also the world's first mass-production vehicle to go into production and on sale (customers were first able to purchase the all-electric vehicle in Japan this past summer).

"As we get ready for the increased use of plug-in vehicles, it is very important to know how the cars will interact with BC Hydro's grid and what their charging requirements will be," said BC Hydro President and CEO Elton. "The i-MiEV will help us answer some of these questions while serving as a symbol of BC Hydro's leadership in the demonstration of electric vehicles."

The i-MiEV, which stands for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle, is an all-electric, highway-capable, charge-at-home commuter car. Because the battery, the motor and other items are mounted beneath the floor, out of the way, the i-MiEV seats four adults and offers surprising interior room and cargo space. Other i-MiEV features include excellent low-speed acceleration, which is a characteristic of electric motors, and a very low centre of gravity, which contributes to superior handling and stability. Moreover, the i-MiEV is extremely quiet inside.

The specialized battery can be charged with the standard 110v wall socket or 220v dryer type socket commonly found in Canada. Charge time is approximately 14 hours using household 110v and six hours using household 220v. Collaborative research and development with several power companies has led to the development of a quick charging system capable of recharging the battery to 80 percent capacity in 30 minutes.

At the recent Tokyo International Motor Show (2009), the i-MiEV was presented with the Japanese Car of the Year award for "Most Advanced Technology". The i-MiEV was praised for the manner in which it applied its advanced, lithium-ion battery technology in a full, four-seat, family car and for achieving full production status.

Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc. is committed to green technologies and Mitsubishi Motors, Japan, is a world leader in electric car research and development.

For further information:

Visit our password free media website: www.mitsubishi-motors-pr.ca.

Contacts:
Mitsubishi Motors Sales of Canada Inc.
Susan Elliott
Manager, Corporate and Product Communications
(905) 833-0826
(905) 833-8301 (FAX)
selliott@mmsa.com

Mitsubishi Motors Sales of Canada Inc.
Jacquie Adams
(416) 995-0308
jac.adams@sympatico.ca

SOURCE: Mitsubishi Motors Sales of Canada Inc.

mailto:selliott@mmsa.com
mailto:jac.adams@sympatico.ca

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