Capital and business alliance with Sockets Co., Ltd.

2013.08.01 Press Releases
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.

Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Muneaki Masuda; hereinafter referred to as "CCC") has concluded a capital and business alliance agreement with Sockets Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Koji Urabe; hereinafter referred to as "Sockets"), as detailed below.

Aiming to become "the world's leading database marketing company," we operate "T-POINT," Japan's largest shared points service that spans brick-and-mortar stores and online services, with a base of 46.02 million T members (active unique number), which accounts for more than one-third of Japan's population. Furthermore, we aim to constantly propose new "lifestyles" to our T members through various customer touchpoints in the entertainment field, such as our 1,465 TSUTAYA stores nationwide and our internet services "TSUTAYA online" and "TSUTAYA DISCAS."

On the other hand, Sockets is a "database service company" that develops and provides services such as the Media Service Database (hereinafter referred to as "MSDB"), which aims to create encounters between people and works (contents) based on the concept of "connecting people's feelings," with domestic telecommunications companies and e-commerce businesses as its main customers.

Taking into account the business backgrounds of both companies, we have decided to enter into a capital and business alliance with a view to developing new services and businesses that can create good encounters between customers and works by making the most of our membership base and entertainment-focused marketing database, and Sockets' MSDB.

Additionally, we will also consider forming a business partnership through the establishment of a joint venture company, which is expected to be completed this fall. The joint venture will see the two companies working together to develop a unique database and related services. Specific details will be announced once they have been decided.

*MSDB is a database that systematically organizes information on music, video, books, broadcasts, people's names, and local areas, as well as detailed information on the characteristics of works, and uses characteristic information as a key to realize cross-media related services by relating works. In addition, the unique ID allows for smooth management of everything from introducing works to reporting copyrights and purchasing.  

Details of the capital alliance

The Company will acquire a total of 240,000 shares by acquiring 120,000 shares from Sockets' existing shareholders and allocating 120,000 shares to a third party.

(1) Acquisition from existing shareholders

The Company has agreed to acquire 70,000 shares from MegaChips Corporation (Code Number: 6875, First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange), 20,000 shares from Faith Inc. (Code Number: 4295, First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange), 20,000 shares from Sockets' President and CEO Koji Urabe, and 10,000 shares from Sockets' Senior Managing Director Masayuki Ikusa, for a total of 120,000 common shares.
① Acquisition date: August 2, 2013
② Number of shares acquired: 120,000 common shares (ownership ratio: 5.33%, voting rights ratio: 5.33%)

(2) Third-party allotment of new shares

① Acquisition date: August 19, 2013
② Number of shares acquired: 120,000 common shares
(The ratio to the total number of issued shares is 5.33% before the allocation and 5.06% after the allocation.)
③ Method of acquisition: Subscription to a third-party allotment

Materials related to this matter

Capital and business alliance with Sockets Co., Ltd.

Inquiries regarding this matter

Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. 　
President's Office Public Relations TEL: 03-6800-4491 (Contact: Daisuke Tada)