Roundtable Discussion
Business Integration through M&A:
Toward the Maxell that Stands for Micro Batteries
In March 2026, Maxell acquired the primary battery business operated by Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Tohoku Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., establishing a new subsidiary company, Maxell Sakura Co., Ltd., to commence operations. We held a roundtable discussion with Kosei Hasegawa, Yasuhiro Kuwana, and Takashi Kimura, who have taken up the roles of President and Directors of the new company, to talk about the background and current status of this M&A, as well as its future prospects.
Background to this M&A and expected synergies
HasegawaAt the first morning meeting on the very first day after the company’s establishment in March 2026, we projected a single slide with the words “From rivals to the strongest,” and it drew a strong response from our employees. The 2 companies had long been rivals, but that rivalry pushed each of us to become world-class in our respective fields. I believe it was this message, that we would now grow even stronger as a single team, that resonated so deeply with so many employees. I’m genuinely excited to see what kind of chemistry will emerge from here.
We defined Maxell Sakura’s vision as “Taking on the challenge of creating value by bringing together technology, people, and expertise.” Since we launched as a new company, what has surprised me most is that constructive dialogue is taking place every day, and mutual understanding is deepening faster than I expected. It is precisely because we spent so many years competing with and pushing each other that our discussions about what we should become as we aim to be the front-runner in the highly-reliable small battery sector, grounded in the experience, expertise, and pride in manufacturing that each side has built up, never seem to run dry.
Both companies also have a high proportion of overseas sales, and one major advantage was that there was relatively little overlap in the customer accounts we inherited, and few cases where they competed with our existing sales channels. One of Maxell’s strengths is that we have battery engineers stationed at each of our overseas sites, giving our local sales staff deep expertise in batteries. With our sales channels now further expanded, I believe that by making the most of this synergy, we can offer solutions that address an even broader range of customer challenges than before. I expect the 2 companies will be able to move even more quickly in capturing these synergies at an early stage.
KuwanaA defining feature of Tohoku Murata Manufacturing’s approach to manufacturing is what we call “diverse products, variable volumes,” and our strength lies in being able to move faster than other companies when it comes to introducing new equipment or switching production items with agility. If this strength is carried over to Maxell as well, I believe it will enhance the flexibility of the entire group.
Going forward, the most important thing is to generate synergies over the long term. By bringing together our people, expertise, and technologies, and by drawing on the diversity of perspectives and ways of thinking in manufacturing at both companies, I want us to merge the ideas each side had been pursuing independently, spark innovation, and strengthen our competitiveness.
Many of us learned firsthand what matters when it comes to integration during the M&A that brought this business from Sony to Murata Manufacturing, and I believe we can put that experience to good use.
Accelerating exchange between the 2 sites to bring our people together and create synergies
KimuraBecause this is the second integration for the people at the Koriyama Works, they’re taking a calm, big-picture view of the situation. On the other hand, this is a first-time experience for the people at the Ono Works, so they seem to be caught up in a range of concerns, including immediate issues.
KuwanaOn the first day of the briefing sessions on the M&A, I had the chance to talk with everyone at Maxell, and I feel we’ve gotten off to a very good start, with mutual respect on both sides and no one pushing their own way of doing things onto the other. Bringing our technologies together depends on bringing our people together, and I’d like to see us accelerate that exchange in earnest.
KimuraI was originally an engineer myself, and I believe that by bringing together 2 companies with such high levels of technological capability on a global scale, we will be able to create truly one-of-a-kind products going forward. I hope that what our engineers are beginning to work on today will grow into the technologies and products that lead to next-generation product development for our customers.
HasegawaWhen engineers talk to each other, the conversation inevitably tends to center on seeds, and while that’s very important in itself, increasing opportunities for value creation based on needs drawn from the market could open up a wider range of options. Going forward, under a single vision, we will work to strengthen collaboration among our people, pool our expertise, and reinforce our technologies, while also taking a market-driven approach to product development that solves the issues and challenges we identify in the market. Our plants have a very significant role to play here. With the Ono and Koriyama Works both contributing, the number of possible solutions will double, the pace of our initiatives will accelerate, and we’ll be able to bring more proposals to our customers, giving us a strength that I think will be immeasurable.
By leveraging our strength in being able to respond comprehensively across our existing fields, the all-solid-state battery field, and beyond, we also want to expand into markets we have not yet entered, such as the space sector development we have just newly announced. This is also raising motivation among our sales staff.
KimuraI think a major factor behind this M&A was the thorough preparation we carried out in advance, and, the fact that Mr. Kuwana brought everyone at the Koriyama Works together around a shared direction in the end. Now that things are underway, I have the impression that our 2 companies were already reasonably well aligned to begin with, that both sides share a serious approach and attitude toward manufacturing, and that our corporate cultures are quite similar.
KuwanaUntil now, micro batteries had been positioned as just one business, not our parent company’s core business, but at Maxell they will become a core business. That comes with greater responsibility, but all of our employees are genuinely delighted that our success will directly contribute to Maxell’s growth, and that has raised morale considerably.
HasegawaIn this integration, we retained 99.3% of our employees, an exceptionally high proportion. In terms of tangible synergies, since the 2 companies serve different customer bases, we can expect new business to develop from this. But even more than that, I believe the synergies that will come from the “human connections” on the intangible side will be extremely significant, and that’s something I’m truly looking forward to. As President of Maxell Sakura, I want to emphasize this point in particular.
KimuraMaxell and Tohoku Murata Manufacturing had been operating in the same battery market, but with different design philosophies and different strengths. We believed that by combining our respective technologies and know-how through this M&A, we could offer our customers value that neither company could have achieved alone. Another deciding factor was that integration would accelerate our growth and enable us to reliably capture the market’s growth opportunities.