Japan Investment Fund Forms Strategic Capital Alliance with KAKEGOE and Saport

Nihon M&A Center Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Company" / Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director and President: Taku Miyake), through its consolidated subsidiary J-Capital Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director and President: Masahiko Otsuki), and Japan Development Bank (hereinafter referred to as "DBJ" / Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director and President: Seiji Chika) jointly invested in Japan Investment Fund Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Japan Investment Fund" / Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director and President: Masahiko Otsuki / URL: https://www.j-fun.co.jp/). The Japan Investment Fund No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership (hereinafter referred to as "the Fund"), managed and operated by Japan Investment Fund, announces that it has formed a strategic capital alliance with KAKEGOE Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "KAKEGOE" / Headquarters: Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture / Representative Director: Daichi Mizuguchi) and Saport Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Saport" / Headquarters: Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture / Representative Director: Chiho Mizuguchi).

KAKEGOE operates multiple types of izakaya restaurants in Kyoto City, with its main focus on the "Aiyo!" skewered fried izakaya. Based on the philosophy of "a company overflowing with gratitude, where each individual has the power to achieve," it has achieved steady business growth by developing stores through a dominant strategy in the Kyoto area and establishing an efficient operation system with a central kitchen and in-house logistics. In addition, Saport's employment support business is a business that Ms. Chiho Mizuguchi has carefully nurtured since its establishment, aiming to create employment opportunities where individuals with disabilities can demonstrate their strengths in their own way. Through the collaboration of both companies, they are creating opportunities for diverse human resources to play active roles through their dining business, achieving both business growth and social contribution.

To support the mid-to-long term growth of KAKEGOE and Saport and lead to further development, they have decided to form a capital alliance with Japan Investment Fund to advance internal management systems and promote initiatives to expand the dominant area of "Kyoto Skewered Fried Aiyo!". Mr. Daichi Mizuguchi will continue as the representative of KAKEGOE as a joint investor, and Ms. Chiho Mizuguchi will continue as the representative of Saport.

Japan Investment Fund will work to promote the growth and development of KAKEGOE and Saport by strengthening various management foundations and expanding business scale, in cooperation with the Company Group, DBJ, and regional banks that are investors in the Fund.

## About Nihon M&A Center Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE Prime: 2127)

Company Name: Nihon M&A Center Holdings Co., Ltd.

Head Office Location: Tekko Building 24F, 1-8-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Business Activities: Management of group companies, etc.

Established: April 1991

Locations: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Okinawa, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand (including local subsidiaries and branches of Nihon M&A Center, which is a consolidated subsidiary)

## Contact for this matter

Nihon M&A Center Holdings Co., Ltd. Public Relations: pr@nihon-ma.co.jp