ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it had agreed to underwrite shares issued by Equirent Vehiculos y Maquinaria S.A.S (hereinafter “Equirent”), which is engaged in Operational Renting and Rent-a-Car. Equirent (headquartered in Bogota, Colombia; Ernesto Sarria, General Manager) is the oldest Renting company and one of the biggest fleet management operators in Colombia. ITOCHU had held a 25% stake in Equirent.

Given the diversifying customer demand and trends, and developing purchasing channels, business environment is dramatically changing at an unprecedented pace. In particular, the automotive industry is undergoing a major structural change with the progress of CASE technologies. (Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Service and Electric Vehicles).

Since 1960, ITOCHU has been expanding its Automotive business globally by operating in the businesses of international trade of vehicles, wholesale and retail distribution of automobiles, and car financing. ITOCHU is aiming to respond to these market changes by participating in Equirent’s Operating Renting and Rent-a-Car businesses, which are closer to customer needs and more compatible to next-generation mobility related technologies.

In addition, Equirent has achieved great growth by providing high value-added services that meet customer demands since its foundation in 1993, making it one of the leading companies in the industry. Seissa, Equirent’s parent company, has built strong relationship with ITOCHU for nearly half a century.

Now, with this capital increase by ITOCHU Corporation, which develops a wide range of businesses globally, Equirent will accelerate the enlargement of existing operations, the development of next-generation businesses, and the expansion in the region .