Nitto Acquires Bend Labs, Inc. in the United States

OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nitto Denko Corporation (headquarter: Osaka, Japan, President: Hideo Takasaki, hereafter Nitto) (TOKYO:6988) and Bend Labs, Inc. (US, Co-CEO: Jared Jonas, Colton Ottley, hereafter “Bend”) have agreed on Nitto’s acquisition of Bend. Bend merges into the Nitto Group on June 1, 2022 and starts its business as Nitto Bend Technologies. Hereafter, they will combine Bend’s sensor device technologies with Nitto’s strengths to develop next-generation technologies and products, and to develop new businesses which utilize sensor-acquired data.

Nitto develops new products and services by strategically devoting resources to Nitto’s three focus domains: Information Interface, Next-generation Mobility, and Human Life. The acquisition of Bend will also accelerate innovation in these domains.

The flexible sensor developed by Bend simultaneously measures “bend”, “stretch” and “force” at high accuracy, in addition to having excellent flexibility and durability. The flexible sensor is expected to meet the evolving technical demands in various fields, including automation in the automotive field and remote monitoring in the digital healthcare field. Through this acquisition, Nitto aims to create new businesses by combining Nitto’s global foundation and core technologies, such as adhesive technology and flexible printed circuit technology, with Bend’s sensor device technology.

Besides expected applications in the ever-changing automotive and healthcare fields, Nitto also anticipates these technologies to be utilized in fields such as sports and robotics. Furthermore, Nitto considers building a platform to accumulate sensor-acquired data and deploying services utilizing the acquired data.

Overview of the acquired company:

The impact of this acquisition on Nitto’s consolidated earnings forecast for FY2022 is insignificant. In case significant effect is recognized, Nitto will report it thereafter.

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