Panasonic Corporation announced that it will establish a new company to operate its security systems business in Japan and overseas and that it has reached an agreement for strategic co-investment with Polaris Capital Group Co., Ltd. A decision was approved at a board of directors meeting.

The Security Systems Business Division, which is part of Panasonic?s Connected Solutions Company, has a roughly 60-year history of developing security cameras and advanced edge devices and combining these with unique software such as facial recognition to meet the needs of the market, and has established itself as a top brand in the Japanese security camera market.

With rising global demand for security and safety, the security-related business is a field that is forecast for growth; and by establishing the new company and concluding a co-investment agreement with Polaris, Panasonic believes that it can achieve stable growth in this market.

The new company will be able to utilize Polaris? knowledge and experience cultivated from numerous investments into manufacturers and other large-scale enterprises. It will build on the strengths of the Division while benefitting from management and resources of Polaris to seamlessly implement the necessary structure to operate as an independent organization.

Strengthening its solutions capabilities with proactive alliances and M&As, the new company will aim to enhance its revenue and profitability globally centered on the North American market.

With new and next-generation products and services, and a strategic growth plan to expand sales of medical camera modules, the new company will build a solid foundation as an independent entity with a potential public offering in the future.

The new company will be formed into an independent entity from the Connected Solutions Company?s Security Systems Business Division and the industrial & medical vision compact camera R&D department of its Innovation Center.

The Public Safety sales and development functions of Panasonic System Solutions Company of North America (PSSNA), and the security camera manufacturing factory in China—Panasonic System Networks Suzhou Co., Ltd. (PSNS)—will become subsidiaries of the new company.

After establishment, the new company?s security cameras and software are planned to be sold under the Panasonic brand: by the new company in the US market; through Panasonic System Solutions Japan Co., Ltd. (PSSJ) in the domestic market; and through existing Panasonic sales companies in other regions including Europe, China, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Canada,which will all sign sales agreements with the new company.

Under its ?Gemba Process Innovation? vision, Panasonic?s Connected Solutions Company is expanding its B2B solutions business, with offerings to the three main areas of manufacturing, logistics, and retail, where it aims to be a total integrator.