Orix to buy lease company from Nippon Steel


Orix stock is down on Friday, but Nippon Steel Trading shares are soaring

TOKYO, Japan -- Orix Corp. said on Friday that it will buy Nittetsu Lease Corp. from Nippon Steel Trading Co.

Orix plans to take 90 percent of Nittetsu Lease, now owned 98.5 percent by Nippon Steel Trading.

The deal will technically be a joint venture. Under the plan, the final 10 percent of the company will be held by Nippon Steel Co., the trading company's parent.

Nittetsu Lease is a leasing company that now plans to sell life insurance and other financial products, after becoming part of the Orix family of companies.

Orix stock down in morning trade

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The move was first reported in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily, quoting unidentified company sources.

According to Reuters news agency, Orix will complete the deal by July.

Nippon Steel Trading Co. released a statement saying that it plans to focus on trading and is attempting to streamline operations.

Orix, a high-flying equipment leasing and financial services company, gets some 75 percent of its sales in Japan. But it also operates out of offices in Hong Kong, London and New York.

It is perhaps best-known as the company that owns the Kobe baseball team, Orix Blue Wave.

Stock in Nippon Steel Trading is soaring on Friday, up 22.5 percent to 98 yen. But Orix stock is down 0.82 percent to 10,900 yen, with Nippon Steel Corp. off 0.47 percent to 212 yen.

That's on a day the broad Topix index of all Section 1 stocks in Tokyo is down 0.45 percent at 1131.75 at the midday break.

Forecasting record profit

In a separate announcement last Friday, Orix said it would hire 1,000 workers aged between 50 and 70 over the next three years, to work for its outplacement service for middle-aged employees.

Stock in Tokyo-based Orix also trades on Nasdaq in the United States. It forecasts a record profit for this business year, after posting its highest-yet profit in the last business year, for the fifth year in a row.

Nippon Steel is increasingly focusing on its steel business, where it gets 75 percent of its sales.

It owns around 45 percent of Nippon Steel Trading, its trading arm, selling steel bars and other products throughout Asia and the United States.