|
Digital Garage Forms New
Company ‘WEB 2.0’ with PIA and Kakaku.com To Start New Portal
Site and Other Businesses in View of Next-Generation Net Society
Aiming at Mutual support through next-generation technologies
and content
Digital Garage, Inc. (JASDAQ code: 4819, Head office: Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo: President and CEO: Kaoru Hayashi: henceforth DG) has
reached an agreement with leading ticket agency and publication
company PIA
Corp (TSE First Section code: 4337: Head office: Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo: President and CEO: Hiroshi Yanai) and Kakaku.com,
Inc. (TSE First Section code: 2371: Head office: Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo: President: Yoshiteru Akita), a DG subsidiary that operates
“kakaku.com”, the leading price comparison website, on the establishment
of a joint company tentatively named WEB
2.0 (web-two-point-o), with the aim of starting new businesses
focusing on “Web 2.0,” the collective term for next-generation
Internet technologies such as blogs.
1. Purpose of the Joint Company
As of the end of September 2005, blog service registrations
in Japan expanded to a total of approximately 4.73 million
and are expected to continue to expand, according to a survey
conducted by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
In accordance with “Web 2.0,” the collective term for next-generation
Internet technologies such as blogs, the new company will
effectively use existing content owned by Kakaku.com and PIA,
as well as the real time blog search technology of DG’s wholly-owned
subsidiary Technorati
Japan, Inc. in an effort to develop Internet media and
services, starting with the opening and operation of a new
portal site “PingKing”
(tentative name) to be built on its “Live Web Japan” concept.
“PingKing” will integrate content and services related to
entertainment, in which user preferences are clear and the
affinity with blogs is strong, as well as PCs and home appliances.
We will call for participation in “PingKing” from a range
of other influential sites.
Taking this opportunity, PIA will further enhance its ticket
business through this full-scale entry to the blog services
business, which is closely related with entertainment, to
draw more customers to its own media, fortify its partnership
with the DG Group and develop and reinforce its entertainment
media services with the aim of building new frontiers.
2. Outline of the New Subsidiary
| |
Trade name: |
|
WEB 2.0 (web-two-point-o), Inc.; tentative
name |
| Main businesses: |
|
- To make the content of other providers into APIs and provide same to users
- To operate a new portal site
- To provide blog marketing data, etc. |
| Established: |
|
November 15, 2005 (scheduled) |
| Head office location: |
|
2-43-15 Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo |
| Representative: |
|
Kaoru Hayashi (DG President) |
| Capital: |
|
50 million yen |
| Major shareholders and ratio
of share holdings: |
|
Digital Garage, Inc. 76%
PIA Corp. 14%
Kakaku.com, Inc. 10% |
|
