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NEWS RELEASE

June 21, 2019

Announcement Regarding the Sale of Shares of Net Protections Holdings

We are pleased to announce that funds served by Advantage Partners (“AP Funds”) have reached a definitive agreement to sell 10,858 shares of Net Protections Holdings, Inc. (“Net Protections Holdings,” or “the Company”) to RICOH LEASING COMPANY, LTD. (“Ricoh Leasing”), representing 12.33% of Net Protections Holdingsʼ total shares on a fully diluted basis.

Net Protections Holdings and its fully owned subsidiary, Net Protections, Inc. (jointly, “Net Protections,” or the “Group”) pioneered the deferred settlement market in Japan as one of the first providers of deferred settlement services for consumer-focused e-commerce websites after its founding in 2002. After AP Fundsʼ investment in the Company in July 2016, Advantage Partners leveraged its experience from previous portfolio companies and carefully cultivated a network of professional contacts to support the Companyʼs management. As a result of these efforts, the Group is now a vital participant in Japanʼs e-commerce settlement infrastructure with annual active users of, NP Atobarai, the Companyʼs primary payment solution growing to 13.5 million people, and cumulative transactions completed through the platform reaching 170 million.

AP Funds believe that Ricoh Leasingʼs investment will further strengthen the Groupʼs BtoB business, which is one of the focus areas of the Groupʼs growth strategy. Net Protectionsʼ BtoB service, NP Kakebarai, utilizes settlement technology and practices developed at its popular BtoC service, NP Atobarai, to offer an easy payment solution while also eliminating counterparty default risk for corporate customers. Post-AP Fundsʼ investment, NP Kakebarai grew into a second pillar for the Groupʼs business, growing to 14% of the Groupʼs transactions in the 2018 fiscal year, with further growth expected by the Company as it becomes accepted as a payment method in new industries. Going forward, the Company expects to accelerate the growth of this service by augmenting the Companyʼs sales platform.

Ricoh Leasing, which has a network of approximately 400,000 leasing partners and approximately 6,000 vendors, operates business segments in leasing, installment, and financial services. By leveraging Net Protections’ position in settlement and Ricoh Leasing’s expertise, customer relationships, and strength in financial solutions, the Company aims to build a platform that can meet the total payment/financial needs of small to medium enterprises.

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