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PRESS CONTACT:
Shigeyoshi Fujiwara
Corporate Communication,
Faith, Inc.
mail_to_ir@faith.co.jp
TEL: +81-(0)3-5776-6255
FAX: +81-(0)3-5776-6256 |
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Faith acquires investments from Intel Capital and Yoshimoto Kogyo |
| - Expanding business cooperation with Intel and Yoshimoto Kogyo - |
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Expanding the development of content distribution technology using PCs and mobile phones |
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Expanding entertainment content planning and production capabilities |
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| Tokyo-Feb 16, 2007---Faith, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Faith” ; TSE stock code: 4295) receives investments (acquisition of issued shares) from Intel Capital (hereinafter referred to as “Intel”) and Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd., (hereinafter referred to as “Yoshimoto Kogyo”) in order to accelerate the creation of “a new scheme for the distribution of digital content” and market development by expanding its technical capability related to contents distribution using PCs and mobile phones while expanding entertainment contents planning and production capabilities. |
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| Executive Summary |
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| [Expansion] New technology for content distribution using PCs and mobile phones |
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Business cooperation with Intel |
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| [Expansion] Entertainment content planning and production capabilities |
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Business cooperation with Yoshimoto Kogyo |
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| [Expansion] Capital policy |
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Investment in Faith by Intel (acquisition of about 2.6% of Faith’s issued shares) |
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Investment in Faith by Yoshimoto Kogyo (acquisition of about 1.5% of Faith’s issued shares) |
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| Until now, Intel, Yoshimoto Kogyo, and Faith have been providing and developing video content distribution services with high picture and sound quality for the high performance PCs equipped with Intel® Viiv™ technology geared towards digital entertainment, through Bellrock Media Inc., a joint venture financed by various companies including Faith, Intel, and Yoshimoto Kogyo. Faith will expand its business cooperation with Intel and Yoshimoto Kogyo as a result of investments from these companies. |
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| 1．Business cooperation with Intel |
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Intel and Faith are planning to promote business cooperation regarding the planning and construction of an user-friendly model that employs the advanced functions of Japanese mobile telephones, based on the digital home strategy that Intel has developed in the field of PCs and IT home appliances. The companies are jointly moving forward with planning and commercialization with the goal of realizing a distribution service that employs NFRM (Near Field Right Management™), an authentication technology developed by Faith.
Intel and Faith have strengthened their existing cooperative relationship, and Faith has built up experience related to the distribution service businesses for mobile phones. Faith’s know-how includes the following: |
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Development know-how and technology licenses for mobile devices such as audio reproduction technologies and content rights management, |
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Network solutions such as those for content distribution systems, |
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Production and development of contents data and applications, |
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Planning of rights management model for network distribution, |
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Large number of members signed up for various distribution services, |
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Authentication technology NFRM (Near Field Rights Management™). |
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And the companies are planning to apply these know-how to the projects related to the digital home, particularly the PC technology promoted by Intel. |
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| 2．Business cooperation with Yoshimoto Kogyo |
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The Yoshimoto Kogyo Group and Faith Group have built a strategic cooperative relationship that includes the following facets: |
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Investment in Fandango, the Yoshimoto Kogyo Group’s service provider (Faith holds 12.4% shares) |
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Joint establishment of Bellrock Media Inc, |
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Sales of music and entertainment CDs and DVDs, and the distribution of digital contents for high-performance PCs equipped with Intel® Viiv™ technology for digital entertainment through the Bellrock Media Group, |
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Provision of digital distribution services for mobile phones of popular Yoshimoto Kogyo celebrities operated by Faith’s content provider subsidiary Giga Networks, |
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Investments in Giga Networks by Yoshimoto Kogyo (Yoshimoto Kogyo holds 4.6% shares). |
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This strategic business cooperation with Yoshimoto Kogyo enables Faith to promote the further expansion of the content distribution market with Faith’s ability to create the contents distribution scheme, and with Yoshimoto Kogyo’s brand with rich content and successful marketing. |
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| 3．Expansion of capital policy |
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Intel reached an agreement to acquire about 2.6% of Faith’s issued shares. In addition, Yoshimoto Kogyo agreed to acquire about 1.5% of Faith’s issued shares. As a result of these investments, Faith will expand and accelerate business cooperation with both Intel and Yoshimoto Kogyo Group. |
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