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EQT Consortium Raises Tender Offer Price for Kakaku.com to JPY 3,450 Per Share

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Increased tender offer price exceeds the JPY 3,384 price in the competing proposal and aims to reduce uncertainty and facilitate the timely completion of the transactionAmended tender offer price reflects the Consortium’s continued commitment to supporting Kakaku.com’s long-term growth and developmentThe Consortium has already obtained all necessary regulatory clearances required, further underscoring the certainty of the transaction for the Company and its shareholders.

TOKYO, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EQT today announced that Kamgras 1 K.K. (the “Offeror”), a member of the consortium led by BPEA Private Equity Fund IX (“BPEA IX” or “EQT”) and Digital Garage, Inc. (“Digital Garage”, and together with EQT, the “Consortium”), has decided to amend the terms and conditions of its ongoing tender offer (the “Tender Offer”) for the common shares of Kakaku.com, Inc. (“Kakaku.com” or the “Company”) (TSE: 2371), including raising the tender offer price from JPY 3,000 per share to JPY 3,450 per share (the “Revised Tender Offer Price”).

The Revised Tender Offer Price exceeds the JPY 3,384 per share price contained in the competing proposal announced on July 1, 2026.

The original tender offer price of JPY 3,000 per share represented a compelling offer for shareholders and reflected Kakaku.com’s intrinsic value and included a reasonable premium over Kakaku.com’s unaffected market share price prior to the publication of speculative media reports regarding the Tender Offer. Following developments in the process and further careful consideration, the Consortium decided to increase the tender offer price in order to further enhance execution certainty and reflect its continued conviction in the Company’s long-term potential. 

The Revised Tender Offer Price is intended to facilitate the timely completion of the transaction and enable Kakaku.com to focus on long-term growth and value creation. The Consortium has already obtained all necessary regulatory clearances required, further underscoring the certainty of the transaction for the Company and its shareholders. In contrast, the competing proposal contemplates a tender offer only commencing in September 2026 at the earliest and remains subject to various conditions, including regulatory approvals. 

Tetsuro Onitsuka, Partner in the EQT Private Capital Asia team, said: “Our proposal provides Kakaku.com shareholders with an attractive combination of value, certainty and timing. By combining EQT’s global digital and AI expertise with Kakaku’s strong brands and data assets, we believe Kakaku can accelerate platform development and pursue long-term value creation. We remain excited about Kakaku.com’s long-term potential and look forward to working alongside management and Digital Garage to support the Company’s next phase of growth and value creation.”

EQT brings long-term capital and global experience supporting digital and platform businesses. It has a track record of partnering with leading digital marketplace and classified businesses, including PropertyGuru, idealista and Casa.it, and working with management teams to support platform development, operational improvement and sustainable long-term growth. This experience, combined with Kakaku.com’s strong brands and data assets, would position it to support the continued development of the Company’s platforms and its next phase of growth.

Japan remains a strategically important market for EQT. Since establishing its Tokyo office in 2006, EQT has steadily expanded its presence and activity in the market, including through recent take-private transactions involving Fujitec, CareNet and Mamezo. This commitment is supported by the scale of EQT’s broader Asia Pacific platform. In April 2026, EQT closed BPEA IX with USD 15.6 billion in total commitments, making it Asia Pacific’s largest private equity fund to date. Together, EQT’s longstanding local presence, regional scale and global capabilities position it to continue partnering with leading Japanese companies to achieve their long-term growth ambitions.

For details regarding the amendment, please refer to the announcement issued by the Offeror today titled “Notice Regarding Amendment to the Terms and Conditions of the Tender Offer for Share Certificates, Etc. of Kakaku.com, Inc. (Securities Code: 2371)”.

The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, and may not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or solicitation. Any offer or solicitation in respect of BPEA IX will be made only through a confidential private placement memorandum and related documents which will be furnished to qualified investors on a confidential basis in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution to persons in the United States of America. Any securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration thereunder or pursuant to an available exemption therefrom. Any offering of securities to be made in the United States would have to be made by means of an offering document obtainable from the issuer or its agents and would contain detailed information about the issuer and its management, as well as financial statements. The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration.

Regulations on Solicitation

This press release is intended to provide information relating to the Tender Offer to the public and has not been prepared for the purpose of soliciting the sale of shares. If shareholders wish to sell their shares, they should first carefully read the Tender Offer Explanation Statement concerning the Tender Offer and make their decision at their own discretion. This press release does not constitute, or form a part of, an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase securities, and neither this press release (in whole or in part) nor its distribution will form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, an agreement related to the Tender Offer.

US Regulations

The Tender Offer will be conducted in accordance with the procedures and information disclosure standards provided in Japanese law, and those procedures and standards are not necessarily the same as the procedures and information disclosure standards applicable in the United States. In particular, Section 13(e) or Section 14(d) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (as amended, the “Securities Exchange Act”) and the rules promulgated thereunder do not apply to the Tender Offer, and the Tender Offer does not conform to the procedures or standards therein. All financial information included or mentioned in this press release and the documents referenced herein is not based on U.S. accounting standards, and such accounting standards may not be equivalent to or comparable with financial information prepared in accordance with U.S. accounting standards. Because the tender offeror is a corporation established outside the United States and all or some of its directors and officers are not residents of the United States, it may be difficult to exercise rights or make claims against them that can be asserted based on U.S. securities-related laws. In addition, it may not be possible to initiate legal proceedings against a non-U.S. corporation and its officers in a non-U.S. court on the grounds of violation of U.S. securities laws. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a non-U.S. corporation and its affiliates will be subject to the jurisdiction of a U.S. court.

The respective financial advisors of the tender offeror, the Company, Digital Garage, Inc. and KDDI Corporation, the tender offer agent, and their respective affiliates may, in the ordinary course of their business, to the extent permitted by the financial instruments exchange-related laws and regulations of Japan and other applicable laws and regulations, and in accordance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5(b) under the Securities Exchange Act, purchase, or engage in activities directed at purchasing, shares of the Company for their own account or for the account of their clients, either prior to commencement of the Tender Offer or during the Tender Offer Period, outside the Tender Offer. If information concerning any such purchase is disclosed in Japan, disclosure will be made in English on the website of the person making such purchase (or in another manner).

Unless otherwise specified, all procedures relating to the Tender Offer will be conducted in the Japanese language. While some or all documents related to the Tender Offer may be prepared in English, the Japanese-language documents will prevail in the event of any discrepancies between the English and Japanese documents.

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. Known or unknown risks, uncertainties, or other such factors could lead to outcomes that may differ markedly from the projections and other information explicitly or implicitly indicated in such forward-looking statements. Neither the tender offeror nor its affiliates guarantees that the projections and other information explicitly or implicitly indicated in such forward-looking statements will materialize. The forward-looking statements in this press release were prepared based on information in the possession of the tender offeror as of the date of this press release, and unless required by laws or regulations or the rules of a financial instruments exchange, neither the tender offeror, the Company, nor any of their respective affiliates will be obligated to change or revise such statements to reflect any future events or circumstances.

Other National Regulations

The release, issue or distribution of this press release may be subject to legal restrictions in certain countries or regions. In such cases, please be aware of and comply with any such restrictions. The release, issue or distribution of this press release does not constitute a solicitation of an offer to purchase or sell share certificates in connection with the Tender Offer and is to be deemed solely as the distribution of materials for informational purposes.

Contact:
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com

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260717 [Press Release] EQT Consortium Raises Tender Offer Price for Kakaku.com to JPY 3,450 Per Share

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Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh Signs MoUs with 36 Top Global Universities; to provide global exposure for students

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July 17, 2026

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Students to get an opportunity to study at top ranked Universities across 19 countries

LUCKNOW, India, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh, India’s first AI-Augmented Multidisciplinary University, has signed a Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with 36 top ranked universities in 19 countries to provide its students global learning through student exchange programs, dual degree programs, internships and joint research opportunities in the institutions abroad.

Divulging details of the MoUs, Jai Inder Singh Sandhu, Managing Director, Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh said, “The university has built a globally diverse and academically strong network of international partners with global standing for connecting its students to world-class education.”

“The partner universities of Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh are top ranked in the QS World University Rankings. While one of these 36 universities is ranked among the world’s top 100, seven universities feature in the top 200 globally, 12 are ranked between 201 and 500, and eight are placed among the world’s top 1,000 universities in the QS World University Rankings 2027.”

“The partner network of Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh spans across the world with 7 universities in USA, 4 in United Kingdom, 3 in Malaysia, 2 each in Canada, Italy, Nepal, and South Africa and one each in Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, Macao SAR, New Zealand, South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Hungary, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius signing MoUs to nurture young minds into global visionaries, enabling them to explore new cultures, expand their academic knowledge, and unlock exciting career growth opportunities,” he added.

Sandhu said, “The prestigious universities, both in the government and private sector, who have forged partnership with the Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh include Borough of Manhattan Community College of the City University of New York, Northeastern University, Washington Adventist University, Illinois Institute of Technology, American University, Wishington DC, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Kent State University in the United States.”

“In the UK, Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh’s partner universities include De Montfort University, Royal Holloway, University of London, and University of St Andrews from the United Kingdom, along with Queen’s University Belfast from Northern Ireland (UK). Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh’s partner universities in Australia include RMIT, Western Sydney University and The University of Newcastle. The universities in Canada which have established partnership with Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh include Brock University and The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada (Western),” he said.

Jai Inder Singh Sandhu, Managing Director, Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh said, “Other universities which have signed MoU with Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh include Universiti Sains Malaysia (School of Industrial Technology), Sunway University, and Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) in Malaysia; Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, Pokhara University and Mid-West University, Surkhet in Nepal, University of Cape Town and Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in South Africa.”

“This apart, University of Macau in Macao, University of Zagreb (Faculty of Economics and Business) in Croatia; Palacký University in Czech Republic, Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany; University of Szeged in Hungary and Universitas Airlangga in Indonesia, The University of Auckland (Faculty of Education and Social Work) in New Zealand, UNICAMP Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Brazil, Middlesex University in Mauritius and Jeonbuk National University in South Korea,” he added.

Sandhu said, “These MoUs have paved the way for the students of Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh to get international exposure with the access to top universities in the world’s popular higher education destinations across North America, Europe, Oceania, Asia and Africa, creating a rich educational ecosystem through semester abroad or dual degree programs, student exchange programs and joint research projects.”

“Under these MoUs, Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh will offer a wide range of student exchange programs with its partner universities around the world on a semestral or academic-year basis. In semester exchange programs to Europe, Asia, South Africa, South America under these MoUs, students of Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh will get the opportunity to spend a semester in partner universities to make their academic journey international. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh students who intend to do a degree from a University abroad with also get the opportunity for the same under these MoUs. Our students will have the distinct advantages to build-up their professional career,” he added.

Sandhu said, “Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh’s Master Degree programs under these MoUs will help students get into some of the top-ranked Universities to pursue your higher degrees and avail institutional and government scholarships for the same. Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh’s ‘Short Term Programs’ under the MoUs with the universities across the world will provide its students with a unique opportunity to gain practical international exposure. Through short-term Immersion Programs, Industry Immersion Programs, Profile Building Programs, Summer School Programs and Winter School Programs, Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh students will engage with diverse communities, broaden their global perspective and develop valuable skills. Such programs are especially useful for students who want international exposure but may not be looking for a full long-term relocation. For many students, these shorter formats can be the first meaningful step into global learning.” 

Jai Inder Singh Sandhu said, “Students of Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh will get ‘study-abroad’ opportunities under which they will spend a defined period at a partner university and experience an international classroom, new pedagogical methods and a different academic culture.”

“Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh’s research-linked collaborations will also lead to creation of opportunities for scholarly engagement, academic exchange and knowledge creation. Such academic relationships will shape future projects, faculty interaction and interdisciplinary learning The MoUs with global universities will focus on several key areas in subject-specific key areas including AI and Cybersecurity in order to prepare students for careers in emerging technologies and improve their employability. In a higher education environment where credibility matters as much as visibility, Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh is standing out for building global opportunities that are measurable, practical and relevant to student success,” he added.

About Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow)

Envisioned to foster a culture of sustainability and empower future global leaders, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh, immerses 21st-century learners in a personalised and experiential learning experience, integrating an AI-powered academic model and a multidimensional, futuristic perspective on education. Our Uttar Pradesh campus carries forward the venerable legacy of more than a decade of Chandigarh University, Punjab, which has established itself as India’s No. 1 Private University and a torchbearer of groundbreaking pedagogy and research-driven innovation. The AI-augmented new campus offers a broad spectrum of industry-driven futuristic academic programs encompassing data-driven insights, virtual reality experiences, real-world simulations, corporate mentorship, international perspective, interdisciplinary research, cultivation of entrepreneurial spirit, and professional competencies.

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Skanska builds high-tech fabrication facility in Boise, Idaho, USA, for USD 390M, about SEK 3.6 billion

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July 17, 2026

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STOCKHOLM, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Skanska has signed a contract with a new confidential high-tech client for the construction of a fabrication facility in Boise, Idaho, USA. The contract is worth USD 390M, about SEK 3.6 billion, which will be included in the US order bookings for the third quarter of 2026.

Work is for a new fabrication facility, a dedicated Central Utility Plant, and associated site infrastructure.

Work has begun and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2028.

For further information please contact:
Daniela Arellano, Communications Director, Skanska USA, tel +1  213 317 4977
Andreas Joons, Press Officer, Skanska AB, tel +46 76 870 75 51
Direct line for media, tel +46 (0)10 448 88 99

This and previous releases can also be found at www.skanska.com.

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Akko Launches New U1 Switch Series, Debuting with Creamy Yellow U1

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July 17, 2026

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SHENZHEN, China, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As Akko approaches its 10th anniversary, the brand introduces U1 Series mechanical keyboard switches. As Akko’s next-generation switch lineup, the U1 Series is built around material innovation, structural refinement, and acoustic tuning, aiming to deliver a polished typing experience.

Across the series, U1 switches feature a newly engineered POM-blend material. While retaining the self-lubricating properties of POM, the material improves smoothness and consistency, bringing a cleaner sound profile and a refined typing feel. A redesigned cylindrical stem and optimized rail structure help each keystroke sound more focused and lower-pitched, with a thocky character, while reducing rail contact area. Paired with an upgraded POM top housing, the design suppresses spring ping and unwanted resonance. Each switch is precision factory-lubed to reduce dry friction out of the box, allowing users to enjoy a smooth, stable feel without manual lubrication.

Creamy Yellow U1 also receives dedicated internal structural upgrades. This U1 version combines the crisp character of the V3 version with the deeper sound of the V5 version, balancing different preferences for switch acoustics. Its optimized structure delivers more stable performance across keyboard configurations, making it suitable for entry-level users exploring custom keyboards while improving compatibility. Through a specially designed light-guiding column for diffusion, the switch reduces light loss and dark areas, creating brighter, more even RGB effects across compatible PCBs. Packaging has also been upgraded to a standard 100-switch box, making it more convenient for switch replacement, spare use, storage, and bulk assembly across mainstream keyboard layouts, while improving efficiency and reducing packaging waste.

More U1 Series upgrades include Creamy Purple U1, which optimizes stem stability and noise control for a clearer tactile feel and purer sound; Piano U1, an upgraded version of the V3 Pro Piano switch with improved smoothness and stability for linear-switch users; and Crystal Silver U1, a new linear switch designed for fast actuation and responsive rebound in gaming scenarios.

According to Akko’s product team, an excellent switch is shaped by materials, structure, sound, and feel working together. Creamy Yellow U1 marks the beginning of the U1 ecosystem. Akko also plans to introduce silent-oriented products and will apply U1 switches to upcoming keyboards, including 5075 V5 and more V5 Series products.

The U1 Series switches are available through Akko’s global sales channels. For more information, please visit akkogear.eu and akkogear.de.

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