Mitsui Chemicals plans JSR acquisition to broaden its semiconductor-materials portfolio

Important news | Retrospective: a 9 November report outlined Mitsui Chemicals and DBJ’s roughly ¥1.84 trillion JSR deal, targeted for completion in the second half of FY2027.

Editorial desk

Illustrative scene: photoresist, polishing and optical-material samples; no actual facility, interface, statistics, endorsement or logos; not approval, completion or a completed deal.

This is a retrospective backfill. Taiwan’s International Trade Administration, citing a Nikkei report dated 9 November, said Mitsui Chemicals had agreed with Japan Investment Corporation to acquire JSR together with the Development Bank of Japan. The reported transaction total is about ¥1.84 trillion, with completion expected in the second half of FY2027. This describes an announced transaction, not a completed acquisition.

After closing, Mitsui Chemicals would hold all voting rights in JSR and consolidate it. A JIC fund acquired and delisted JSR in June 2024, after which the business pursued longer-term research, reform and industry consolidation as a private company. The proposed deal changes ownership and the materials portfolio; it is not an announcement of a new wafer fabrication plant.

JSR’s businesses include photoresists, semiconductor polishing materials, optical materials and life sciences. The trade office’s report placed its global photoresist share among the top two suppliers and cited annual revenue of ¥440.7 billion and core operating profit of about ¥62.3 billion for the year ending that March. These describe the existing target, not incremental sales or orders from the proposed deal.

The transaction comprises approximately ¥1.3921 trillion in equity value and ¥447.9 billion in interest-bearing debt and other items. DBJ would contribute ¥200 billion, with Mitsui Chemicals using bank bridge financing for the remainder. Within a year of closing, Mitsui plans up to ¥150 billion in common-equity fundraising and ¥300 billion in mezzanine financing to improve its financial structure.

Illustrative scene: blank grouped papers for acquisition equity, debt and bridge financing; no actual facility, interface, statistics, endorsement or logos; not approval, completion or a completed deal.

Mitsui Chemicals already supplies pellicles and protective tapes for wafer manufacturing and packaging. The acquisition would add JSR’s advanced and thick-film photoresists and polishing technologies, broadening materials across front- and back-end processes. The companies plan to combine technology and customer relationships for next-generation materials. An additional annual ¥40 billion in profit by FY2035 is a target, not an achieved integration result.

Illustrative scene: pellicle, wafer-protection tape and photoresist materials; no actual facility, interface, statistics, endorsement or logos; not approval, completion or a completed deal.

Sources

Some images in this article are generated illustrations.