Interview With Mr. Asakura, COO of Morningstar Japan K.K. (OSA:4765) About The Company's Intention of Acquiring 100% Ownership of Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd (OSA:3813)

Osaka, Feb 4, 2011 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Morningstar Japan K.K. (OSA:4765) and the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. (OSA:3813) have mutually agreed to the acquisition through stock swaps of 100% (one-hundred percent) ownership of the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. by Morningstar Japan K.K.

2.2 common shares of the Morningstar Japan K.K. will be equal to 1.0 share of the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. The company will be delisted on the 19th of this coming April.

Mr. Tomoya Asakura, President and Chief Operating Officer of Morningstar Japan K.K. said "We expect that this acquisition can further increase the business profitability of the Morningstar Japan K.K. Group".

The writer interviewed Mr. Asakura on the background of the Company's decision for the above acquisition and its next business development.

--- Your company has already created partnerships with the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. by taking a 67.8% stake. What is your intention?

Mr. Asakura: To put it briefly, the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. will obtain a more profitable business structure and increase its growth potential of the business by promoting a unified business management through our acquisition of its 100% ownership. It needs considerable expenses for maintaining the listing requirements. We can get the benefit of improving our capacity to earn consolidated earnings.

The Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. is engaged in advisory services including the comparison analysis of usability and ranking the Website's services provided by online securities brokers, internet banks and electronic commercial companies and so forth. It has started to provide comparison analysis services by ranking the Websites of Investor Relations of Corporations and of Universities. This service has helped the company to accumulate the know-how necessary for improving the useability of Websites. The company has also provided its research reports to corporate clients.

The research service or Website development service is a labor-intensive business, which has needs, but not so profitable. After Lehman's fall, the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. has only obtained the minimum orders requisite for its operation. Financial institutions, its main customers, have reduced their development costs of Websites.

The company's volume of sales was JPY 400-500 million on an average and its profit level had been barely above its costs. The company reported its operating profits of JPY 1 million during the fiscal third-quarter ended on 31 March, 2011.

Under such circumstances, the company has suffered from the increasing expenses of maintaining its listing requirements. The actual expenses of listing requirements are approx. JPY 20 million, equivalent to 20% of its Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.

--- Will Morningstar Japan K.K. make the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. its subsidiary for the purpose of rationalization?

The corporate restructuring is one of our purposes. The greater benefit is that we can expect more synergy effect on our marketing strategy than ever.

This acquisition will reduce the unnecessary costs by unifying administrative departments and exchanging persons between the companies.

For this acquisition, we can make use of our similar experience of merging the Kabushiki Shimbun Co., Ltd. in April, 2008. Sale administrative expense of the half term (six months) was JPY 535 million, and it was a deficit of JPY 127 million before the merger took place. However, Sales administrative expenses reduced greatly to JPY 285 million after two years, the company then moved into the black with Operating profits of JPY 119 million.

Both companies cooperated with client introductions in the past. When the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. becomes our 100% owned subsidiary, then we can promote sales integrally with the company. For example, Morningstar Japan K.K. is aggressively providing new devices such as the iPhone and smart phone to the financial institutions, with data and tools such as supporting services for their business operations. In active response to the new devices such as iPhone, smart phone and iPad, the ability of the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. can help Morningstar Japan K.K. to enhance its services to the financial institutions.

In addition, Morningstar Japan K.K. carries out Investor Relations support seminars and produces video contents for the listed company etc. and is also doing Investor Relations consultation. It is also possible to develop services for industrial corporation with the best use of know how by Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. who has been investigating and analyzing Investor Relations Websites of companies.

We can expect to increase volume of sales by business tie-ups as well as reducing management costs. This is the point of our acquiring the 100% ownership of Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd.

---What do you think of the growth potential of consulting services of Websites which are the area of speciality for the Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd.?

Especially for financial institutions, those institutions such as securities brokers and regional banks are positively strengthening their Websites. In addition, demand for new device using information services such as iPad and smart phones are expanding.

Since the end of last year, the Morningstar Japan K.K. has started to market to regional banks and others to use its supporting tools for iPad and which have been well accepted by three banks. We have received many inquiries from other regional banks and securities brokers. The change of tide is becoming bigger steadily from face-face marketing to direct marketing.

We are exercising our specialties in providing data and information. The Gomez Consulting Co., Ltd. can contribute to establish consulting services and new systems which make better use of our specialties.

We expect to achieve further expansion of the business by providing services in cooperation between the both companies.(Interviewer / in charge of editing: Hiroshi Tokunaga).

Contact

Morningstar Japan K.K. TEL:+81-3-6229-0810 FAX:+81-3-3589-7963