DBJ to make a joint investment with Hanwa Co., Ltd. for the acquisition of Associated Steel Group, LLC
Development Bank of Japan Inc. (“DBJ”) has decided to jointly acquire 100% of the membership interests in Associated Steel Group, LLC (“ASG”; headquartered in Oklahoma, U.S.; CEO Rob Mutersbaugh) together with Hanwa Co., Ltd. (“Hanwa”; with its head office in Tokyo, Japan; President Yoichi Nakagawa).
Hanwa, established in 1947, is a Japanese trading company, operating across a wide range of businesses, mainly in steel, as well as primary metals and recycled metals, food products, energy and living materials. Under its Medium-Term Business Plan 2028 “Go Beyond” launched in 2026, Hanwa aims to evolve into a “Supply Chain Creation Company” that supports a sustainable society by going beyond traditional trading to design and enhance supply chains themselves through business investment and business management. As a part of its growth strategy, Hanwa has positioned its Americas and Europe Strategy as a key strategic theme and is building regionally self-contained value chains to meet in-region needs in these growth markets.
ASG is a manufacturer of non-residential steel building structures primarily operating in the southern United States. Through its pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) approach — using steel components pre-designed and fabricated at its plants, then assembled on-site — ASG supplies building materials for warehouses, manufacturing facilities, data centers, and other industrial structures, with the flexibility to accommodate complex design and fabrication requirements.
This transaction represents a concrete step in implementing Hanwa’s Americas and Europe Strategy as outlined in its Medium-Term Business Plan 2028. DBJ has determined that this investment will contribute to the sustained strengthening of Hanwa’s growth potential and has decided to provide risk capital by utilizing its Special Investment Operations scheme*.
DBJ will continue to utilize Special Investment Operations to actively support the development of markets for growth capital, the revitalization of the local economy, and the efforts of customers to strengthen their competitiveness.
* Special Investment Operations, established as an intensive but temporary scheme to supply growth capital from the perspective of promoting the competitiveness of Japanese enterprises along with regional revitalization, draws only a portion of the investment (industrial investment) from the Japanese government—enough to encourage the private sector to supply growth capital.
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