3 November 2017

Strategic Cooperation of Mitsui with leading European intellectual property group Novagraaf

In 2017, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (“Mitsui”) and European intellectual property (IP) group Novagraaf Group B.V. established a partnership to offer greater choice to Japanese customers. The agreement, which includes an investment by Mitsui in Novagraaf, will support our joint strategy to transform the way IP owners in Japan protect and create value from their IP assets.

Japan is one of the world’s most advanced IP markets and one of the largest IP creators. Since 2013 Mitsui has been working with Japanese business and academic institutions to realize the commercial value of IP assets. The creation and utilization of IP assets is becoming increasingly important. Mitsui plans to develop Novagraaf’s business in the Japanese market and accelerate the provision of comprehensive services throughout the IP asset life cycle.

About Novagraaf
Headquartered in Europe, Novagraaf was founded nearly 130 years ago. The company provides high quality IP services worldwide. Under this agreement, Mitsui and Novagraaf will draw on their respective capabilities and global networks to provide a full range of specialized IP-related services. This will include everything from IP strategy development and rights administration through to working with corporations and academic institutions to enhance IP asset utilization and value creation. Through the seamless provision of sophisticated IP services, Mitsui and Novagraaf will contribute to successful innovation on behalf of our clients.

About Paragon
Paragon is one of the leading independent private equity firms in Europe with approx. €650 million of equity under management. Paragon works closely with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence. The investment portfolio covers various industries and currently comprises 6 companies. Paragon was founded in 2004 and is based in Munich, Germany. For further information please refer to www.paragon.de.