Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko (“NSSK”; www.nsskjapan.com) is pleased to announce that investment partnerships managed or provided with services by NSSK affiliates entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with UNIZO Holdings Company, Limited. (together with its affiliates, “UNIZO Holdings” or the “Company Group”; www.unizo-hd.co.jp), which today filed a petition for commencement of civil rehabilitation proceedings in the Tokyo District Court. NSSK has agreed to acquire control over the Japan-based business of the Company (the real estate and hotel businesses of UNIZO Holdings in Japan only and their office business in the US is not included) as a sponsor. NSSK believes that UNIZO Holdings’ business can be fully revitalized and also has potential for further development in the future by fully utilizing NSSK’s hotel management know-how, its vast network, finance and human capital resources, among others. NSSK will continue discussions with UNIZO Holdings toward the goal of executing a final agreement in relation to the sponsorship arrangement in conjunction with the guidance of the Tokyo District Court and the supervisors. NSSK will also continue to discuss and consider with UNIZO Holdings its sponsorship to their businesses other than the Japan-based business of the Company.

UNIZO Holdings was established in 1959 and is headquartered in Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo. The Company Group consists of 11 companies, including UNIZO Holdings and its consolidated subsidiaries, and is engaged in the real estate business, which includes owning, leasing and managing office buildings and real estate brokerage services, and the operation of a hotel business, which includes owning and operating business hotels. The Company Group owns and leases three office buildings in prime office locations in central Tokyo. In addition, the Company Group owns, leases and manages six office buildings in the USA. The Company Group also owns and operates 14 business hotels under three brands – HOTEL UNIZO, UNIZO INN and UNIZO INN Express – in convenient locations in the center of major cities and regional hubs, with an average age of approximately three years.

NSSK possesses an experienced team composed of members with a wealth of investment experience in the hotel and tourism industry, a proven history of operating multiple hotels, and a track record of improving services and cost efficiency, which it will all leverage for the benefit of UNIZO Holdings. As a specific example, in the area of hotel management, NSSK previously invested in Castle Inn Hotel & Resort Co., Ltd., which has several hotels in Mie Prefecture, and the Kamogawa Grand Hotel, Ltd., which operates hotel-related operations with the Kamogawa Grand Hotel and Hotel Nishinagato Resort as its main facilities, and successfully improved occupancy rates and ADR (Average Daily Rate: average revenue per occupied room). In the tourism sector, NSSK implemented various business improvements through its investment in Ise Meotoiwa Sea Paradise Co., Ltd., which operates an aquarium in Mie Prefecture. The founding members of NSSK have extensive experience in investing and supporting redevelopment projects, including sponsoring the corporate restructuring of Joint Corporation Co., Ltd. (now part of HASEKO Real Estate Development, Inc.), a property development and sales company.

Leveraging the business foundation that UNIZO Holdings has built, and by providing NSSK’s Value Up Program and drawing on the expertise and domestic and international networks that its members have cultivated, NSSK intends to strengthen the competitiveness of UNIZO Holdings and contribute to the enhancement of its corporate value. At the same time, NSSK will support the introduction of business management methods, which include visualization of KPIs, strengthening governance and compliance systems, enhancing labor management systems, disseminating corporate philosophy, and promoting ESG activities so that UNIZO Holdings can achieve more robust growth in the next stage of its development.