Tech & AI
Mitsui Chemicals Agrees ¥1.84 Trillion Purchase of Chip-Materials Maker JSR
The deal with state-owned DBJ moves the photoresist specialist out of JIC-controlled funds and will lift Mitsui's leverage above four times EBITDA.
HedgeWeekly Tech & AI Desk ·
Mitsui Chemicals said on Monday it will buy JSR, a leading maker of photoresists, from funds managed by JIC Capital for about ¥1.84 trillion ($11.6bn) including debt. Photoresists are light-sensitive coatings used to print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. Reuters had reported on 4 November that a sale could top ¥1.3 trillion; the final price is well above that figure. Japanese reports describe it as the largest deal in the country's chemicals industry.
The price comprises equity of about ¥1.39 trillion and roughly ¥448bn of debt and other items. The state-backed Development Bank of Japan will invest ¥200bn and hold non-voting preferred shares, leaving Mitsui with all voting rights. JSR, which owns US extreme-ultraviolet resist developer Inpria, earned ¥440.7bn in revenue and ¥59.3bn in attributable profit in the year to March 2026. Closing is targeted for the second half of the fiscal year ending March 2028, subject to approvals in Japan and abroad.
Mitsui has lined up a ¥1.64 trillion bridge loan and plans to refinance with bank loans, bonds, mezzanine financing and up to ¥150bn of new shares. It expects net debt to exceed four times EBITDA for a period and says it aims to keep an A-category credit rating. It targets about ¥40bn a year of added profit by fiscal 2035 and plans to sell JSR's life-sciences arm, including KBI Biopharma.
Why it matters: it is a bet on Japan's grip on critical chipmaking materials, and a sizeable balance-sheet stretch for a company with a market value near ¥800bn at the time of the Reuters report. Investors should watch the equity raise and its dilution, antitrust and foreign-investment reviews, and whether customers in the supply chain react to a change of ownership.