Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko (“NSSK”; https://www.nsskjapan.com/) is pleased to announce that investment partnerships managed by NSSK affiliates (NSSK II) entered into a share purchase agreement with Beaglee Inc.. (“Beaglee”; https://www.beaglee.com) concerning the sale of all of its shares of BUNKASHA PUBLISHING CO., LTD. (https://www.bunkasha.co.jp/), its affiliates (collectively “Bunkasha” or the “Company”), and holding companies of Bunkasha called NSSK-C Co., Ltd. and NSSK-CC Co., Ltd..

Bunkasha is a comprehensive publishing group that sells manga books and magazines as its main products, as well as leisure magazines in both paper and digital formats. The Company specializes in manga for women and owns excellent manga content including “Stepmom and Daughter Blues”, which was turned into a popular TV drama series. In addition, the Company has been a player in digital content production since the dawn of the digital manga market.Through collaboration with many writers and creators, the Company has the publishing power to produce content for the rapidly changing trends and needs of digital readers.

Since April 2017, NSSK has provided NSSK’s Value Up Program (“NVP”) to Bunkasha to implement global best practices in all relevant areas, including accounting, finance, compliance and governance measures, profitability enhancement from the digitization of its extensive library of paper manga content, formulation and execution of growth strategies including the review of sales strategies and distribution channels, more effective content accumulation and management and human resource development.. Through the digitalization of the publishing business and Bunkasha’s increased presence in the digital manga market, Bunkasha’s digital sales now account for the majority of total revenue.

Beaglee mainly operates a manga distribution service called “Manga Kingdom.” In addition, they also provide services and projects to distribute other creator contents. Beaglee’s goal is to become a content producer with services being centered around the vision of “creating,” “selecting” and “delivering” content. Beaglee plans to increase original works and distribute them to customers.

NSSK believes that Bunkasha can leverage Beaglee’s history of operating “Manga Kingdom” including their big data and digital comic distribution experience. They also hold relationships with writers and content creators, which will accelerate Bunkasha’s new content creation and will lead to more creative works being produced. For Beaglee, NSSK believes that Bunkasha’s unique content creation and content inventory will be a great addition to their platform.