Acquisition of shares in ez-Wheel, a French company providing Innovative Mobility Solutions

IDEC Corporation (Headquarters: Japan, Chairman and CEO: Toshiyuki Funaki) announced that it has acquired 80% of the shares of ez-Wheel SAS (Headquarters: France, "ez-Wheel"), a manufacturer of autonomous electric wheels, as of August 1, 2023, MMI Technologies, an IDEC group company and holding company of APEM, has acquired 80% of the shares of ez-Wheel SAS.

1. Reason for acquisition of shares

ez-Wheel

IDEC signed a strategic partnership agreement with ez-Wheel on 24 January 2022 and began exclusive distribution in Japan in April of the same year. ez-Wheel, founded in 2009 in Angoulême, France, is an innovative technology company whose mission is "to develop simpler and safer means of transport for goods and people".

They developed the world first self-propelled wheel in 2010 and the world first* safe autonomous wheel in 2021. Demand for robots is expanding in response to the rapid progress of global automation, labor shortages and an aging workforce, and the use of AGVs (automated guided vehicles) and AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) is expanding in various industries and is expected to grow 25% per year for the next several years.

Since the launch of the products in Japan, we have received inquiries from a wide variety of customers, mainly from major automotive manufacturers, and we expect significant synergy effects from the expansion of solution sales, which we are currently promoting as a key transformation of our mid-term management plan.

By making ez-Wheel an IDEC Group company, we intend to strengthen the R&D capacity of the ez-Wheel team in Angoulême and secure their technological superiority in the integration of safety electronics and embedded software in robotic systems.

IDEC will be able to expand global sales of various mobility solutions that combine ez-Wheel products with IDEC's specialty HMI (Human-Machine Interface) and safety-related equipment by utilizing the IDEC Group's sales network. IDEC defines HMI-X [Transformation] as a change in the optimal interface, and aims to lead HMI-X by providing society with products and services that integrate HMI and safety. We will also be able to strengthen our software capabilities, which are indispensable to achieve this goal.

IDEC's Mission is "to create an optimal environment for humans and machines," and with the addition of

ez-Wheel to its group, IDEC will contribute to improving the wellbeing of all people and realizing safety in a wider range of applications where humans and robots can work together.

*Surveyed by the company

2. Schedule

(1) Date of resolution by the Board of Directors: July 26, 2023

(2) Date of contract conclusion: August 1, 2023

(3) Execution date of share transfer: August 1, 2023

3. Overview of the company to be acquired

(1) Name ez-Wheel SAS

(2) Location Moulin de l'Abbaye, 135, Route de Bordeaux 16400 La Couronne, France

(3) Representative Antoine Juan, Chief Executive Officer

(4) Description of business Development, manufacture and sales of autonomous electric wheels

(5) Date of establishment November 2009

(6) Capital Approximately 67 million yen (as of June 30, 2023)

(7) Number of employees 19 (as of June 30, 2023)

(Note) The acquisition price and the counterparty of the share acquisition are not disclosed. The acquisition price is less than 15% of the Company's consolidated net assets.

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