December 2, 2015
Kuraray Co., Ltd.
Kuraray to Divest Its Shares in Kureha Battery Materials Japan, Terminating
a Lithium Ion Battery Business Joint Venture
Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Masaaki Ito;hereinafter “Kuraray”), Kureha Corporation (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo;
President: Yutaka Kobayashi; hereinafter “Kureha”), Itochu Corporation(Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Masahiro Okafuji; hereinafter “Itochu”)
and the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo; President Mikihide Katsumata; hereinafter “INCJ”) hereby announce thatthey have agreed to dissolve Kureha Battery Materials Japan Co., Ltd. (Headquarters:Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Futoshi Saito; hereinafter “KBMJ”), the joint venture
handling materials for lithium ion batteries (Libs). Under the agreement, Kuraray,
Itochu and INCJ will sell their shares in KBMJ to Kureha.
In addition, KBMJ’s operations related to BIOCARBOTRON, a plant-based hardcarbon anode material, will be taken over by Kuraray on January 1, 2016.
Meanwhile, KBMJ will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Kureha, to which it
will transfer its operations related to the production and sale of lithium ion battery(LiB) hard carbon anode material CARBOTRON P as well as LiB binders on April 1,
2016. Once the business transfer has been completed, KBMJ will be subject tocorporate dissolution procedures.
1. BackgroundEstablished by Kureha and Itochu as a joint venture, KBMJ initiated the production
and sale of the LiB hard carbon anode material CARBOTRON P in October 2011 inaddition to the marketing of LiB binders. In August 2012, KBMJ welcomed two newinvestors, namely, Kuraray, which intends to commercialize BIOCARBOTRON, aplant-based hard carbon anode material, and INCJ, a public-private partnership thataims to promote business innovation through investment. Since then, the fourcompanies have helped KBMJ boost its operations related to LiB materials andexpand into markets worldwide. Simultaneously, their efforts have led to theestablishment of a fundraising framework to procure as much as ¥20 billion in order
to secure a financial base capable of developing a global supply structure.
Although the parent companies have judged their efforts to date to expand KBMJ’soperations and develop new products successful, they now recognize the need toreview the joint venture’s business strategies in light of the changing businessenvironment and cloudy outlook. Specifically, they expect demand for LiB hardcarbon anode materials to remain sluggish as growth in the automotive LiB market
has been weaker than anticipated. Accordingly, they see no immediate need forfurther capital investment. The parent companies have thus agreed to dissolve thejoint venture. Going forward, Kuraray and Kureha will leverage their uniquestrengths as they engage in the LiB material business independently.
2. Details of Dissolution
Kuraray and Itochu will transfer their shares in KBMJ by December 31, 2015, while
INCJ will transfer its shares by January 31, 2016, with Kureha taking over all theseshares and making KBMJ a wholly owned subsidiary.
3. Future Operations
The Kuraray Group boasts a wide lineup of materials for electricity storage devices,
including the plant-based LiB hard carbon anode material BIOCARBOTRON,
electric double-layer capacitor carbon materials and aqueous type LiB anode binders.
Today, manufacturers of such devices are facing ever more stringent customer
requirements along with diversifying market needs. Simultaneously, active R&D
efforts are now under way to verify the effectiveness of combinations of different
devices. Employing LiBs as a key business pillar, the Kuraray Group will rally its
resources to meet market demand for electricity storage devices and secure its ability
to accommodate a growing breadth of applications while remaining attentive to thelatest market trends and customer needs. In these ways, we will expand LiB-relatedoperations.
In addition, KBMJ had invested in Bio Hard Carbon Co., Ltd.
(Headquarters: Bizen, Okayama; President: Yasuhiro Yamamoto), a joint venture
producing plant-based anode materials, in tandem with Kuraray’s wholly owned
subsidiary Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Osaka; President:Yasuhiro Yamamoto). KBMJ’s shares in this joint venture will be transferred toKuraray by December 31, 2015. This will better position the Kuraray Group topromote LiB-related operations employing an integrated business structure
comprising production, marketing and R&D functions.
4. Impact on Operating Results
The impact of the dissolution of this joint venture on Kuraray’s consolidated andnon-consolidated business performance will be insignificant.

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Kureha Battery Materials Japan Co., Ltd.
April 2011
3-3-2, Nihonbashi-Hamacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8552
Futoshi Saito¥1,039 million
Kureha Corporation: 50.1%; Itochu Corporation: 20%;
Kuraray Co., Ltd.: 20%; the Innovation Network Corporationof Japan: 9.9%
March 31¥6.1 billion (year ended March 31, 2015)
Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd.
December 1940
39F Umeda Hankyu Bldg. Office Tower, 8-1 Kakuda-cho,
Kita-ku, Osaka
Yasuhiro Yamamoto*¥600 million (100% owned by Kuraray Co., Ltd.)
December 31
Production and sale of activated carbon and other chemicals
Bio Hard Carbon Co., Ltd.
August 2012
4342 Tsurumi, Bizen, Okayama Prefecture (on the groundsof Kuraray Chemical’s Tsurumi Plant)
Yasuhiro Yamamoto*¥425 million (88% owned by Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd. and
12% owned by KBMJ)
December 31
Production of plant-based LiB hard carbon anode materials* Serving concurrently