ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that it has agreed to acquire additional equity securities of Adways Inc. (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Sho Yamada, President & CEO; hereinafter "Adways") and convert Adways into an equity-method affiliate.

In recent years, as the demand for services visualizing the effectiveness of advertising and utilizing data in advanced ways grows in the field of corporate marketing activities, more companies are bringing their advertising operations in-house so that they can manage and operate them directly. Consequently, the importance of advertising distribution platforms and marketing technologies is increasing.

Adways is a digital marketing company engaged in the online advertising business, providing comprehensive marketing solutions for smartphone applications and web services. Through proprietary technologies, including UNICORN, a machine learning-powered fully automated marketing platform, the company delivers highly sophisticated and efficient advertising solutions while pursuing more effective advertising evaluation. Adways’ solutions have been widely adopted by major advertising agencies and a broad range of advertisers in Japan and internationally, earning a strong reputation as a technology platform that supports marketing activities through advanced advertising delivery capabilities.

In line with the ITOCHU digital value chain strategy , which is designed to enable ITOCHU to provide comprehensive support from consulting, data analysis and business design to the design construction and operation of IT systems and operations, ITOCHU has strengthened the foundation of its business in the digital marketing sector in cooperation with many different companies, including ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation, which is responsible for the design and implementation of IT systems, BELLSYSTEM24, Inc., which provides comprehensive BPO services, including customer support and marketing services, and AKQA UKA, Inc., a customer experience design company.

Through the conversion of Adways into an equity-method affiliate, ITOCHU will leverage the combination of Adways’ advanced advertising delivery technologies and the ITOCHU Group’s customer base and business assets to further enhance digital advertising operations and data utilization services for corporate clients. By deepening collaboration with partner companies, including advertising agencies, ITOCHU will support the transformation of marketing activities through initiatives such as customer behavior analysis and customer experience optimization driven by digital advertising insights. In addition, ITOCHU will promote the adoption of Adways’ advertising delivery systems across the ITOCHU Group and accelerate the rollout of solutions to new customers, aiming to create new business opportunities in the digital marketing domain.

ITOCHU has established its The Brand-New Deal: Profit Opportunities are Shifting Downstream management policy and is developing its business areas by tracking the needs of sellers, buyers and consumers as they diversify along with the changes in society and by pioneering and transforming its businesses, beginning with its downstream operations. Through this partnership, ITOCHU will continue to provide marketing solutions that leverage data and technology and help enhance the corporate value of its client companies while also improving consumer experience.