>From Pentax.co.jp: PENTAX Corporation has confirmed the possession of 25,572,000PENTAX shares ( 20.86% of total shares issued as of December 13, 2005) by SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd ( JASDAQ listing 8739; President& CEO Shuhei Abe ) as an investment on behalf of its clients, afterreviewing the major shareholder report that SPARX submitted onDecember 16 to the Japanese Finance Ministry's Kanto Local FinanceBureau. SPARX has confirmed to PENTAX that its acquisition of PENTAX shareswas made purely for investment purposes. At meetings held between thetwo companies, PENTAX has understood that it was based on PENTAX'sgrowth potential and solid management policy. PENTAX will continue to make every possible effort and devote allcorporate resources to achieving the goals set forth in the ongoingmid-term management plan.
Corporate Profile of SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd. ( as ofSeptember 30, 2005 ) • Headquarters : Gate City Ohsaki, East Tower 16F, 1-11-2 Ohsaki,Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032, Japan• Phone : 81-3-5435-8200• Foundation : July 1, 1989• Capital : ¥ 11,441,000,000.• Number of full-time employees : 105 (including executives)• Main business activities : Investment trust, asset management andinvestment consultation services on Japanese securities for domesticand international investors (in compliance with Japanese domestic lawsand regulations governing investment consultant registration,investment trust licensing and securities investment trust licensing) ----------------------Thibouille----------------------*ist-D,Z1,SFXn,SuperA,KX,MX, P30t and KR-10x ...