Mitsui & Co. Global Investment (MGI) - Venture Capital, Start-Up

NEWS 2006

[09/12/2006]

HUGE CO. - To Deploy "Original Concept Restaurants" Showcasing the Talents of Mr. Yoshihiro Shinkawa

Enterprise HUGE Co., Ltd. (CEO: Mr. Yoshihiro Shinkawa; Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan: www.huge.co.jp) has successfully closed its first round of venture funding, led by Mitsui Ventures. To help facilitate the launch of the business of HUGE Co., Mitsui Ventures invested 262.5 million Japanese Yen (or US$2.2 million) through a fund managed by MVC Corporation, which has become a 44.4% shareholder in HUGE Co.

HUGE Co. is managed by Mr. Yoshihiro Shinkawa, the legendary service guru in the Japanese restaurant industry. In his over 20-year tenure with Global Dining Inc. (Tokyo Stock Exchange 7625: www.global-dining.com), Mr. Shinkawa was a driving force in leading the company to continued growth, successfully operating trend-setting restaurants such as Monsoon Cafe (Asian cuisine), Gonpachi (Japanese restaurant) and Tableaux (Fine Dining). His fame was even heightened by serving President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi when they together made a surprise visit to Gonpachi for a yakitori dinner in 2002. After leaving Global Dining as COO in 2005, Mr. Shinkawa joined as Executive Vice President, Link One Co., Ltd. (www.link-one.co.jp), a TSE Mothers-listed company (#2403) to provide operation management and other services to restaurants and has been responsible for training and restaurant operations.

HUGE Co. was first incorporated in September 2005 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Link One and Mr. Shinkawa took the office of CEO to prepare for the launch of its business. In March 2006, Mr. Shinkawa and HUGE employees purchased a majority stake in HUGE Co. and, on April 1, 2006, their first restaurant Rigoletto was opened in Kichijoji area (a western suburb of Tokyo) to serve Spanish/Italian cuisine. Most recently, HUGE Co. opened its second restaurant Dazzle (Fine Dining) in Ginza on April 29, 2006, after successfully closing its first round of venture funding led by Mitsui Ventures. Dazzle received massive media coverage and has had a strong opening.

HUGE Co. opened its second restaurant Dazzle (Fine Dining) in Ginza on April 29, 2006. Dazzle has had a strong opening.

Mitsui Ventures will continue to invest in promising ventures in the retail and service industry in Japan.

Mitsui Ventures

Mitsui Ventures is the venture investment arm of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., an international trading and investment company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan (www.mitsui.co.jp). Independent of strategic objectives of Mitsui & Co.'s other business units, Mitsui Ventures acts as a financial investor and mainly provides early stage capital to entrepreneurial ventures in the world. Over the years, with a special expertise to accelerate business growth globally, Mitsui Ventures has invested in and contributed to the success of start-ups in the fields of communication, software, information services, life science, medical device, and retail services. Located in Tokyo, New York, Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Seoul, we currently manage over US$350 million in capital.