The Carlyle Group Agrees to Acquire NH Techno Glass;Large Capital Expenditures Will Aid Global Expansion

Tokyo, Japan – Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group has today agreed to buy a majority stake in NH Techno Glass, a manufacturer of glass substrates for liquid crystal display (“LCD glass“) that is a 50-50 joint venture of HOYA Corporation and Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd. Nippon Sheet Glass will sell its entire stake in NH Techno Glass, while HOYA will sell part of its holdings and collaborate with Carlyle in this new partnership. The transaction is expected to close in June 2008. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the leadership of President Jun Makino, NH Techno Glass aims to leverage the strengths of the shareholders to further its business development. Large capital investments are planned to add overseas manufacturing facilities to meet rising demand for LCD glass substrates. In addition, NH Techno Glass will substantially reinforce its business infrastructure through collaboration with Carlyle and HOYA to enhance its corporate value for a potential IPO.

Mr. Masao Hirano, Managing Director and Co-Head of Carlyle Japan Buyout, said, “We are confident in the strong management of NH Techno Glass and its growth potential supported by superior technology and product quality. Looking ahead, we will provide comprehensive support to strengthen the company’s corporate governance and global management capabilities to enable speedy implementation of strategic decisions. Besides funding facilities expansion, Carlyle will help actively pursue strategic partnerships and significant improvement in corporate value under a new ownership framework that combines the strengths of HOYA, a world-class corporation, and the management excellence of a global private equity firm.”

Mr. Jun Makino, President of NH Techno Glass, said, “We see a sharp increase in demand for LCD glass substrates in applications across flat-screen television sets, monitors for personal computers and notebook computers, and mobile telephone display screens. As a pioneer of LCD glass manufacturing technology, we constantly advance and broaden our product capabilities to meet the ever increasingly complex and diverse customer requirements. With Carlyle’s equity participation, we expect to quicken our business development through significant capital, R&D and infrastructure investments. By reliably meeting global customer needs, we will gain market share and enhance corporate value, thus evolving into a truly world-class company.”

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NH Techno Glass
NH Techno Glass was established in 1991, during the early days of liquid crystal displays (“LCD“), as Japan’s first manufacturer of glass substrates for liquid crystal displays (“LCD glass“). As such, NH Techno Glass was a joint venture between the general glass manufacturer Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. and HOYA Corporation, which possesses advanced optical glass technologies. Since NH Techno Glass was established, the scope of its business has grown together with the LCDindustry, and it is currently engaged in aggressive business development overseas through centers in Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea as well as in Japan. Because LCD glass are indispensable items, manufactured by only a few companies worldwide, NH Techno Glass is expected to increase in value substantially.  

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