Uzabase, Inc. is delighted to announce that it has been approved under the written resolution with the Board of Directors conducted on May 22nd 2017 that NewsPicks, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uzabase, will make a Business Alliance with Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Along with this agreement, a Joint Venture will be established for the purpose of launching the business of NewsPicks in the United State of America.
【Purpose of the Business Alliance】
Taking our mission of “Business Intelligence to Change Your World”, we aim to establish a worldwide economic information infrastructure that improves business persons’ productivity and unleashes their creativity.
In order to commit to this mission, we believe that expanding business of NewsPicks operated by NewsPicks, Inc., to overseas markets is one of our important growth strategies. Especially, this is a highly significant step to advance into the US, which is a leading country in the global media industry.
Dow Jones is a global-media company with the world’s most trusted business news and financial information in a variety of media including The Wall Street Journal, and also through its provision of Factiva (data and information service that can search for news, market information, and business information with high accuracy). Dow Jones maintains close ties with many media companies around the world.
In addition to the above, Dow Jones also has a strong network with global leaders and experts by conducting the business events, such as the CEO Council, which brings together CEOs of many global companies.
We consider Dow Jones to be the optimal partner of NewsPicks with which to form this Business Alliance, in order to construct media relationships in the US market and attract talented professionals who can post their opinions to NewsPicks US Edition. And furthermore, collaboration with Dow Jones will make it possible to build NewsPicks’s presence in the US market and accelerate our business development in the fastest possible time.
We will work closely with Dow Jones as our very trusted partner to develop NewsPicks US Edition, and keep providing reliable business news and financial information to the world as a quality platform.
【Contents of the Business Alliance】
NewsPicks, Inc. and Dow Jones & Company will each own a 50% stake in the new Joint Venture, established in Delaware and headquartered in New York, USA.
【Officers in NewsPicks USA, LLC】
Yusuke Umeda
Chairman
Yusuke Umeda founded Uzabase, Inc. with co-founders Ryosuke Niino and Yusuke Inagaki in 2008.
Prior to the establishment of Uzabase, Umeda worked at Corporate Directions, Inc., known as an Asian-based management consulting firm, and UBS Investment Banking Division. He launched industry and corporate information platform “SPEEDA” in 2009 and established NewsPicks in 2013. Currently, Umeda serves as the director at both Uzabase, Inc. and NewsPicks, Inc.
Ken Breen
CEO（Chief Executive Officer）
Ken Breen is Currently Senior Vice President, Commercial, for the Dow Jones Media Group, overseeing commercial endeavors for consumer and business brands outside The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Breen started his career at the BBC before moving to News International in the early 1990’s. He also spent 14 years at Telegraph Media Group, chiefly responsible for revenue and, in particular, focusing on digital development and commoditization.
Most recently, Mr. Breen was Vice President at Dow Jones helping News Corp integrate the Move Inc. and Unruly acquisitions from a digital perspective. His other experience includes running the EMEA Consumer Media Division at Thomson Reuters and was formerly Acxiom’s Managing Director for Australia/New Zealand, while also sitting on their APAC executive board.
Shinsuke Oyama
COO（Chief Operating Officer）
Prior to joining Uzabase in 2014, Shinsuke Oyama planned and implemented strategies for enterprise growth and new business at Corporate Directions, Inc., as well as for the Chinese business at CDI-China following its venturing into said market in 2011. He has also worked as a freelance consultant.
Satoru Okawa
CTO（Chief Technology Officer）
Prior to joining Uzabase in 2014, Satoru Okawa was an executive officer in Talknote, Inc., where he went on to establish all of the company’s departments. He joined Talknote as an engineer and oversaw a laboratory team in Vietnam to conduct product development while studying in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Tokyo. Currently, he is responsible for the development of NewsPicks in a joint effort with the Editor and Brand Design teams.
【Overview of NewsPicks USA, LLC】
(1)NameNewsPicks USA, LLC (*1)(2)Location1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036 USA(3)Name of CEOCEO Ken Breen(4)Description of businessDevelopment and provision of NewsPicks US Edition(5)Capital3M USD(6)Date of establishmentMarch 2017 (*2)(7)Year EndJune(8)Net AssetNot yet determined(9)Total AssetNot yet determined(10)Share ratioNewsPicks Inc.: 50%、Dow Jones : 50%
(*1) NewsPicks USA, LLC is a Limited Liability Company which was established in the state of Delaware under Delaware Act.
(*2) We established a joint venture company with a capital of US $ 2 in March, 2017, while discussing and examining this business alliance, for administrative planning reasons. Upon the conclusion of this joint venture agreement, we plan to increase the capital to US $ 3,000 thousand in May, 2017.
【Overview of Dow Jones & Company, Inc.】
(1)Name Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
(2)Location 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10036, USA
(3)Name of CEO CEO William Lewis
(4)Description of business Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, which distributes its content and data through a variety of media channels including newspapers, newswires, websites, applications for mobile devices, tablets and e-book readers, newsletters, magazines, proprietary databases, conferences and video.
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