News Release

Japan Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; President: Akihiko Watanabe; hereinafter, “the Company”) announces that Premier Paper Group Limited (headquartered in Birmingham, UK), a consolidated subsidiary of the Company, has acquired shares in Wine Box Company Limited (headquartered in Crawley, UK) in the United Kingdom.

OVOL Japan Pulp & Paper Group has made the acquisition in accordance with its business policy for its Non-Japan Wholesaling segment as set out in the Medium-term Business Plan 2023. The policy is to strengthen its sales of paper-related material through product diversification that is complementary to its exiting sales network and to create additional value and revenue streams through M&A activities. The details of the acquisition are as follows.

WBC is engaged in the importing and wholesale of packaging-related materials and sells wrapping materials and cushioning for food as well as wine and other beverages, tissue paper for gift wrapping, bags for wine bottles, wooden crates for bottles, baskets, shelves for shops, and display products to corporate customers, such as retailers, as well as individual customers through its online store. Its tailor-made products for luxury department stores and food brands, created by an in-house design team, have been highly rated for their quality and service.

Through the share acquisition, PPG aims to generate synergy effects such as utilizing PPG’s distribution network to expand the sales area for WBC products and boosting sales of WBC products to PPG customers as well as of expanding sales of items offered by PPG, such as cardboard boxes, various films, and sign and display products to WBC customers.