In a significant mining gear OEM possession transfer, ITOCHU Company final week introduced that it has agreed to extend its shareholding in Hitachi Development Equipment Co Ltd (HCM) to 33.4% by buying shares held by a particular goal firm invested by the funding funds managed, operated or knowledgeable by Japan Industrial Companions, Inc. (JIP), by an affiliated firm.
ITOCHU had previously held an efficient main 20.4% stake since August 2022 and mentioned it has no plans for additional acquisition of HCM shares – however this 33.4% share now makes it by a long way the main single firm HCM shareholder. By this transaction, ITOCHU says it “will additional deepen its partnership with HCM and assist HCM’s medium- to long-term development and enhancement of company worth.”
On this transaction, HCJI Holdings, Ltd (HCJI), which is collectively owned on a 50-50 foundation by Citrus Funding GK (Citrus), a completely owned subsidiary of ITOCHU, and JIP’s particular goal firm, will purchase JIP’s shareholding. The transfer is critical because it brings HCM extra firmly beneath the management of one other firm apart from Hitachi Ltd – which decreased its share from 25.4% in late 2025 to 18.36% – at which level HCJI held 25.99%. The Hitachi model will ultimately recede additional when HCM rebrands to LANDCROS in 2027.
Forward of this transaction, Citrus acquired a further 0.4% of HCM shares by market transactions in early February 2026. Because of these transactions, ITOCHU’s shareholding ratio in HCM, together with direct and oblique holdings, is anticipated to succeed in 33.4%. This transaction is anticipated to be given regulatory clearance between February and April 2026 and HCIJ’s acquisition of the shareholding of JIP’s SPC is anticipated to be accomplished in April 2026.
HCM is pursuing sustainable development and enhancement of company worth beneath its medium-term administration plan ‘BUILDING THE FUTURE 2025’ specializing in ‘Progressive Options,’ ‘Worth Chain Enlargement,’ ‘Enlargement of Operations within the Americas’ and ‘Strengthening Individuals and Company Capabilities’ because the pillars of its development technique. HCM has already introduced that it plans to alter its company identify to LANDCROS Company in April 2027 and to speed up international growth beneath a brand new company model.
Because the capital alliance in 2022, ITOCHU has constructed an in depth partnership with HCM and supplied assist from enterprise and administration views. With this extra share acquisition, ITOCHU says it will likely be extra proactive in supporting HCM’s model transformation and medium-to-long-term development methods and will likely be much more strongly dedicated from a capital perspective.
In HCM’s key markets, notably North America, ITOCHU will speed up collaboration by collectively selling gross sales, rental, and finance companies and by pursuing M&A alternatives and new enterprise areas. ITOCHU may even leverage the ITOCHU Group’s experience in areas similar to enterprise administration, governance, logistics, finance and ESG to assist strengthen HCM’s administration foundations and enhance its international competitiveness.
Trying on the mining market particularly, HCM faces an uphill problem in a extremely aggressive mining gear OEM area with Komatsu, Caterpillar and Liebherr – and more and more Chinese language teams like XCMG and SANY. That mentioned, in comparison with its friends, it has made some key developments in areas like hydraulic excavator long run upkeep experience and teleoperation.
It was additionally the primary to place a battery trolley massive mining truck into operation – the EH4000AC-3 Battery that’s working at First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi in Zambia. It has additionally begun an illustration take a look at of a hybrid dump truck at a mine in South Africa – focusing on commercialisation in FY2030. This can be a retrofitted EH4000AC-3.
Added to that it’s created a singular ecosystem in mining by combining upkeep and repair main HEPI; put on elements firm Bradken; FMS, open autonomy and fatigue administration chief Wenco.
In its newest FY2025 Q3 outcomes it reported that in comparison with the identical interval in FY2024 income declined 12 months on 12 months within the Americas OEM enterprise whereas in Oceania, Europe and Asia remained stable. Excluding overseas trade results, income was flat 12 months on 12 months, supported partially by increased promoting costs. In mining particularly, which represents right now about 20% of general gross sales, along with the influence of a stronger yen, it mentioned sluggish useful resource costs have led to a decline in income for each new machine gross sales and elements & providers. This stood at 191.8 billion yen for FY2025 Q3 versus 285.8 billion yen for a similar interval in 2024. Of this 191.8 billion yen determine, 36% associated to new mining excavators and vehicles, and the rest elements and providers.
Main mining orders for HCM lately have included a big fleet of EH4000AC-3 mining vehicles which incorporates 30 models break up throughout two operations – Navoi Mining & Metallurgical in Uzbekistan; and a gold mining shopper in Western Australia. At its largest single buyer mine, FQM Kansanshi in Zambia, it’s delivering 42 EH4000AC-3 vehicles for trolley operation for the S3 growth. Additionally it is delivering two EX8000-7 excavators to a mine in Peru – the primary of this mannequin to be delivered in South America.
