The News

Esmertec Establishes Strategic Relationship with Mitsui & Co.

18/11/2004

Mitsui invests CHF10 million in Esmertec and will jointly exploit market opportunities in Asia Pacific

Tokyo, Japan and Duebendorf-Zurich, Switzerland – November 18, 2004 – Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (www.mitsui.co.jp), one of the world's most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment and service enterprises, and Esmertec™, a leading provider of software solutions for mobile phones and embedded devices, announced today their strategic partnership to collaborate in key business development opportunities in Asia Pacific.

Mitsui’s strategic investment serves to bolster Esmertec’s operations and accelerate the company’s growth in Japan and other key Asian markets for its leading edge software products and technologies.  The partnership extends from commercial exploitation of major emerging opportunities for products to potential joint investments or partnerships with other companies. STAC Partners LLP, London, in association with UFJ Tsubasa Securities Co., Ltd., Tokyo, acted as financial advisor to Esmertec in this transaction.

“Esmertec’s software products are sold in millions to leading wireless phone, cable device and other embedded device manufacturers,” said Mitsui’s Kenichi Hori, General Manager of Principal Investment Department, Corporate Development Division. “We are impressed with Esmertec’s achievements and are committed to work with Esmertec to maximize its business potential in Asia.”

“It is an honor for Esmertec to have Mitsui as a strategic investment partner,” said Alain Blancquart, Esmertec’s Chairman and CEO. “Mitsui is a well reputed leading company and can substantially assist us in the consolidation of Esmertec’s products and position in the Asia market.”

About Mitsui & Co., Ltd
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is Japan's largest sogo shosha, or general trading company. 　In fiscal year 2003, with total trade transactions of $112 billion, the company placed sixth in "The International 500" by Forbes magazine and 11th in "The Global 500" by Fortune magazine. Headquartered in Tokyo, Mitsui & Co. maintains a global network of 195 offices in 86 countries, and has 746 subsidiaries and associated companies worldwide.
www.mitsui.co.jp.

About Esmertec
Esmertec is a leading provider of software solutions and technologies for mobile phones, PDAs and embedded devices.  Esmertec’s solutions are applied in telecommunication, home-multimedia, machine-to-machine, consumer electronics and industrial automation markets.  Esmertec’s wireless Java™ (J2ME™) products and object-oriented platforms deliver high-performance computing on devices with minimal memory to chipset and embedded device manufacturers.  Founded in 1999, Esmertec is a global company headquartered in Zurich, with engineering, sales and customer support operations in Switzerland, France, Denmark, the UK, the USA, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan.
www.esmertec.com

Media Contacts:
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
Corporate Communications Division
Eiki Okada
Telephone: +81 3-3285-7562
Facsimile: +81 3-3285-9819
E.Okada@mitsui.com

Esmertec
Leng Stricker
Phone +41 1 823 8900
lstricker@esmertec.com

STAC Partners LLP 
Tuck Seng Low, Oliver Parr
Tel: +44-20-7863-8873
tsl@stacpartners.com
www.stacpartners.com