Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mazda Motor Corporation, Central Finance Co., Ltd. and Ford Motor Credit Company LLC to Form Strategic Alliance in Auto Finance Business in Japan(1/1)
March 13, 2008
To whom
it may concern
Sumitomo
Mitsui Banking Corporation
Mazda
Motor Corporation
Central
Finance Co., Ltd.
Ford
Motor Credit Company LLC.
Sumitomo
Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mazda Motor Corporation, Central Finance Co., Ltd.
and Ford Motor Credit Company LLC
to Form
Strategic Alliance in Auto Finance Business in Japan
TOKYO, March 13, 2008—Sumitomo
Mitsui Banking Corporation (gSMBCh, President; Masayuki Oku), Mazda Motor
Corporation (gMazdah, Representative Director, Chairman and President; Hisakazu
Imaki), Central Finance Co., Ltd. (gCFh, President and Representative Director;
Tatsuo Tsuchikawa) and Ford Motor Credit Company LLC (gFMCCh, Chairman and CEO;
Michael E. Bannister) today reached an agreement to form a joint strategic
alliance in Primus Financial Services Inc., (gPRIMUSh, President and
Representative Director; Geoffrey E. Green) which provides auto finance
services to Mazda and Ford group auto dealers in Japan.
SMBC,
Mazda and CF will acquire 41 percent, 40 percent and 15 percent, respectively,
of the outstanding shares of PRIMUS, which is currently a wholly owned
subsidiary of Ford Credit International Inc. (gFCIh). FCI is a wholly owned
subsidiary of FMCC. FMCC will continue to hold a 4 percent stake in PRIMUS through
FCI. PRIMUS plans to expand its
presence under the new administration on April 1, 2008, subject to regulatory
approvals. It is expected that, post acquisition, PRIMUS will become a
consolidated subsidiary of SMBC and an equity method affiliate of Mazda and
CF.
PRIMUS, as
the Japanese subsidiary of the FMCC group (which is one of the largest auto
finance companies in the world) has assets of approximately JPY 200 billion,
and has offered auto loans to customers of Mazda and the Ford group (Ford, Volvo
(passenger car), Jaguar and Land Rover), and various financial products to
dealers of those brands in Japan.
PRIMUS
continues to position captive financing (OEM-cooperative automotive financing) to
Mazda and the Ford group as its main business. The same standard of service to
customers will continue to be provided through essentially the same operational
resources, including employees. In addition, the JV partners -- SMBC, Mazda,
CF, and FMCC -- will combine their expertise and business resources to enhance
PRIMUSf business platform and improve its profitability.
SMBC
will position this strategic alliance as part of its attempt to enhance its
consumer finance business, and it will aim to improve its presence in the auto
finance industry. As publicly announced on February 29, 2008, CF plans to merge
with OMC Card Inc. and QUOQ Inc. The newly established companyfs annual auto
loan contract volume after the merger will be approximately 380 billion yen.
This, combined with PRIMUSf annual contract volume of 80 billion yen, will make
them a major player in the auto loan market. Based on this business platform, they
will strive to take advantage of the extensive finance business know-how of the
SMFG group, centering on SMBC, to develop products and services that will
better satisfy their customers.
In the increasingly competitive domestic automobile market, sales
promotion measures that leverage automotive financing are becoming more important. Under such circumstances,
this strategic alliance is an important and strategic initiative for Mazda to
enhance its domestic sales structure. Mazda, together with PRIMUS, has been
taking initiatives such as the eMazda Advantage Loanf deferred credit plan,
which was launched in July 2007. Through this strategic alliance, Mazda and
PRIMUS will strive to offer even more attractive financing programs while
working on the enhancement of brand value.
yReferencez
Overview
of PRIMUS Financial Services Inc.
(1) Corporate
nameF PRIMUS Financial Services Inc.
(2) Main
businessF Automotive financing
(3) Establishment
dateF September 17, 1993
(4) LocationF 1-2 Minami Kyuhojimachi 4-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka city, Osaka
(5) RepresentativeF Geoffrey E.
Green, President
(6) CapitalF 2,600 million JPY ias of December 31, 2007j
(7) EmployeesF 161 ias of December 31, 2007j
(8) Main
shareholders and their equity ratiosF Ford Credit International Inc.i100%jias of December 31, 2007j
Overview of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
(1) Corporate
nameF Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
(2) Main
businessF Banking
(3) Establishment
dateF June 6, 1996
(4) LocationF 1-2 Yurakucho 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku,
(5) RepresentativeF Masayuki Oku,
President
(6) CapitalF 664,986 million JPY (as of September 30, 2007j
(7) EmployeesF 17,945 (non-consolidated, as of September 30,
2007j
(8) Main shareholders and their equity ratiosF Sumitomo Mitsui
Financial Group, Inc. (100%) (as of September 30, 2007j
Overview of Mazda Motor Corporation
(1) Corporate
nameF Mazda Motor Corporation
(2) Main
businessF Manufacture and sale of passenger cars and trucks and others
(3) Establishment
dateF January 30, 1920
(4) LocationF 3-1 Shinchi Fuchu-cho Aki-gun,
(5) RepresentativeF Hisakazu Imaki,
Chairman and President
(6) CapitalF 150,068 million JPY (as of September 30, 2007j
(7) EmployeesF 39,441(consolidated, as of September 30, 2007j
(8) Main
shareholders and their equity ratiosF Ford Motor Company (33.38%), Japan Trustee
Services Bank, Ltd. (4.99j,
The Master Trust Bank of Japan,
Ltd. i4.68j, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire
Insurance Co., Ltd.i2.85j, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporationi2.65j (as of September 30, 2007j
Overview of Central Finance Co., Ltd.
(1) Corporate
nameF Central Finance
Co., Ltd.
(2) Main
businessF Credit card, consumer installment credit, personal loan, guarantee
and money collection agency service
(3) Establishment
dateF January 28, 1960
(4) LocationF 20-27 Nishiki 3-Chome, Naka-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken
(5) RepresentativeF Tatsuo
Tsuchikawa, President and Director
(6) CapitalF 23,254 million JPY (as of
September 30, 2007j
(7) EmployeesF 2,415 (consolidated, as of September 30, 2007j
(8) Main
shareholders and their equity ratiosF Sumitomo Mitsui
Banking Corporationi14.29j, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (8.78%), Mitsui & Co.,
Ltd. (8.78%), (as of September 30, 2007j
Overview
of Ford Motor Credit Company LLC.
(1) Corporate
nameF Ford Motor Credit Company LLC.
(2) Main
businessF Automotive financing and others
(3) Establishment
dateF August 20, 1959
(4) LocationF One American
Road, Dearborn, Michigan, USA
(5) RepresentativeF Michael E. Bannister,
Chairman and CEO
(6) CapitalF 5,149 million
US$
(7) EmployeeF 11,100 inon-consolidated,
as of December 31, 2007j
(8) Main
shareholders and their equity ratiosF Ford Motor Company (100%)
y Contact information z
SMBC Pub ic Relations Department 03-5512-2679
Mazda Domestic PR Department i Tokyo j 03-3508-5056
Group
RP Planning Department i Hiroshima j 082-282-5253
CF Corporate Planning Department @hq 052-203-1198
FMCC
Global Communications + P -615-315-3545
