SATO Acquires Majority Stake In Okil, Russia's Leading Label Manufacturer

Acquisition strengthens business network in BRIC nations

SATO, a global leader in barcode printing, labelling, and RFID solutions, announced recently that it has taken a majority stake in Okil-Holding, JSC, acquiring approximately 75% of all shares issued. This transaction was completed on December 19, 2014, and Okil will now operate as a subsidiary within the SATO Group.

“Okil is recognized as a local market leader and fits perfectly into SATO’s strategic roadmap,” said Kaz Matsuyama, President and CEO of SATO Holdings. “Our mid-term strategy is focused on achieving sustainable growth, while maximizing value for customers across the globe. This acquisition allows us to further solidify that strategy, establishing a foothold in Russia and strengthening our network within BRICS markets, which offer tremendous growth opportunity.”

Russia’s label market is expected to grow exponentially. The market has seen double digit growth since the late 2000s, with an average annual growth rate of 13% from the years 2009 to 2013.

Okil is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Russia and holds the top position in the country’s label market with a 15% market share, recording 54.5 million USD in sales in FY2013. The company specializes in value-added product labels for the food and beverage, beauty and healthcare industries, and boasts a large customer base comprised of local companies and a variety of major multinational corporations.

"We are excited to be moving into 2015 with SATO," said Denis Okulov, Okil’s founder and CEO. "Being part of the SATO Group will connect Okil to a wider global network, and allow us to deliver greater value to local customers through SATO's diverse range of solutions."

About Okil
Okil holds the top position in Russia’s primary label market, specializing in the manufacture and sale of value-added product labels for the food and beverage, beauty and healthcare industries. The company is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, with additional sales and production centers in Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Omsk, Veliky Novgorod and Novosibirsk. In FY2013, it reported revenues of $54.5M USD. For more information, visit okil.ru.

About SATO
SATO is a pioneer and leading global provider of integrated Automatic Identification and Data Collection solutions that leverage barcode, two-dimensional stacked & QR code, color code, digital watermarking, and UHF/HF/PJM RFID technologies. SATO delivers innovative end-to-end solutions to businesses as a single point responsibility for hardware, consumables, maintenance management, application software, each designed to enhance customer value. SATO solutions enable better business efficiencies and environmental protection to contribute to the development of a sustainable world.

Founded in 1940, SATO is publicly listed on the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan. It has sales and support offices in over 20 countries and is represented globally through a world-class network of partners. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, it reported revenues of JPY 96,773 million (US$ 966M). For more information, visit www.satoworldwide.com.

*Conversion is based on an average exchange rate of 1 US Dollar = 100.16 Japanese Yen.