Minebea was founded in 1951 as Japan’s first manufacturer of miniature ball bearings (originally called Nippon Miniature Bearing). It now employs more than 70,200 people and has sales worth 500,676 million yen ($4.1bn). As well as bearings, its products include actuators, stepper motors, machinery components and electronic devices. Minebea's portfolio includes a 1.5mm outer diameter bearing which it claims is the world’s smallest commercially available steel ball bearing.
Mitsumi was founded in 1954 to produce items such as coils and transformers. It currently employs 36,373 people and had sales in last fiscal year worth 153,045 million yen ($1.3bn). In addition to motors, it produces electronic components, power supply parts, switches, connectors and actuators. It was the first company to mass-produce high-performance actuators for cameras.
Minebea and Mitsumi are describing their merger as a business integration “based on the spirit of equal partnership”. They are aiming for growth by increasing cross-selling and by achieving a “strategic evolution” of their portfolio that “captures the needs of the IoT era”. They plan to concentrate their resources in high-end and niche markets, as well as combining Minebea’s motors and actuators with Mitsumi’s switches, sensors and connectors. They also intend to expand into robot-related products and other high-value-added areas.
The share exchange between Minebea and Mitsumi is planned to take place in April, 2016.