News Release

Japan Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; Representative Director, President & CEO: Akihiko Watanabe; hereinafter “the Company”) hereby announces that BJ Ball Limited, has acquired a flexible packaging business in New Zealand, and Ball & Doggett Pty Ltd both companies are subsidiaries of Ball & Doggett Group Pty Ltd (Head Office: Dandenong South, Victoria, Australia), a consolidated subsidiary of the Company, has acquired a sign & display business in Australia.

As part of the Japan Pulp & Paper Group's OVOL Medium-term Business Plan 2026, one of the strategies for the Non-Japan Wholesaling segment is to strengthen the sales of high-value-added products such as sign & display products and flexible packaging while also incorporating complementary M&A into our existing sales network. This business acquisition was carried out under that strategy.

Ball & Doggett Group is the leading company in the paper distribution industry in Oceania, and through this acquisition, Ball & Doggett Group aim to promote diversification across the group and achieve further growth.

Pacrite has strengths in flexible packaging for the food sector and sells flexible packaging materials used for various applications, including agricultural purposes. Together with Caspak Products, a flexible packaging wholesaler acquired in 2022, BJ Ball will strengthen the flexible packaging business as a pillar of our growth strategy through business diversification in New Zealand.

SE operates in the Queensland sign & display market, selling hardware and providing maintenance services, as well as selling consumables such as paper, film media, and ink. With this acquisition SE aims to expand its market share in the sign & display sector within the state. Ball & Doggett will leverage the foundation strengthened by the acquisition of Conect Enterprises in 2022 to further enhance the sign & display business across the Australian market.