San-Mic Shoji Co., Ltd. (President: Toshio Yamamoto), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd. (President: Masatomo Nakamura), and Komine Nissho Co., Ltd. (President: Noriyuki Hanzawa), an agent of Nippon Paper Industries, have reached a basic agreement for a merger of the companies, scheduled for April 1, 2006.

The two companies have been seeking to expand their agency operations for Nippon Paper Industries. With the future outlook surrounding the paper distribution industry now more severe, they have decided to strengthen their business fundamentals through a merger.

 

San-Mic Shoji president Toshio Yamamoto is expected to be appointed president of the new company, while Noriyuki Hanzawa, currently president of Komine Nissho, will become vice president. The new management plans to step up business as a direct agent of Nippon Paper Industries by streamlining operations and providing the new company with a stronger competitive edge.

San-Mic Shoji will be the surviving company in the merger, although the name, head office location, and merger ratio of the merged company will be determined on a consultation henceforth between the two companies.

 

[Profiles of the Companies]

1.Company name	San-Mic Shoji Co., Ltd.	Komine Nissho Co., Ltd.
2.Head office	Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo	Chuo-ku, Tokyo
3.Representative	Toshio Yamamoto (President)	Noriyuki Hanzawa (President)
4.Date of establishment	July 1979	May 1926
5.Capital	1,000 million yen	309 million yen
6.Sales	174,316 million yen	50,340 million yen
7.Number of employees	308	113