Why Mitsubishi Pencil Bought LAMY: The 2024 Deal
Mitsubishi Pencil, the Tokyo maker of uni and uni-ball, bought 100% of C. Josef Lamy GmbH to grow in Europe and gain LAMY's brand, design and fountain-pen nib know-how. It announced the deal on February 29, 2024 and took control on March 15, 2024. Its half-year report puts the cost at 21.9 billion yen (about US$138 million).
On this page
Key takeaways
- Mitsubishi Pencil's board approved the purchase and signed the contract on February 28, 2024; LAMY dated its own release February 28 and Mitsubishi Pencil's filing is dated February 29.
- The shares changed hands on March 15, 2024 (deemed acquisition date March 31), when Vera and Markus Lamy, who each held 50%, sold all of LAMY to Mitsubishi Pencil.
- The announcement withheld the price, but Mitsubishi Pencil's half-year report lists cash consideration of 21,881 million yen (about US$138 million) and provisional goodwill of 11,140 million yen (about US$71 million).
- LAMY had 2023 sales of 76.8 million euros (about US$86 million) and more than 340 staff; the buyer promised to keep headquarters and production in Heidelberg.
- The first joint products were the LAMY safari JETSTREAM inside (January 29, 2025) and LAMY safari KURUTOGA inside (March 13, 2026).
Mitsubishi Pencil, the Tokyo company behind uni pencils and uni-ball pens, bought all of LAMY, the Heidelberg fountain-pen maker, in 2024. Below is what each company said and the dates and price in Mitsubishi Pencil’s own filings. After that come both companies’ histories, from 1887 and 1930 to the first pens they made together.
Why did Mitsubishi Pencil buy LAMY?
Mitsubishi Pencil bought LAMY to grow outside Japan, above all in Europe, and to gain a premium brand, design skills and fountain-pen nib technology it didn’t have. Its Japanese press release of February 29, 2024 lists five reasons:
- Sales abroad. Mitsubishi Pencil had mostly sold overseas through local distributors, and it calls growing its share of the European market “one of its important business strategies”. LAMY gives it a company based in Europe that sells worldwide.
- Brand. uni is mainly sold at “prices everyone can afford”. LAMY’s mid- to high-priced range, and its experience branding and marketing pens at that level, widen what the group sells.
- Design. Mitsubishi Pencil says its products were designed for Japanese tastes. It wants to combine its functional pens with the design that European users prefer.
- Technology. Mitsubishi Pencil already machines metal for ballpoint tips and mechanical-pencil mechanisms. LAMY adds the metalworking for fountain-pen nibs.
- Little overlap. The two ranges rarely compete on category or price, so each can sell the other’s products through its own channels in Europe, North America, Japan and Asia.
The release ties all five reasons to the company’s long-term vision for 2036, its 150th anniversary: to become “the world’s No. 1 company for innovation in expression”.
LAMY gave its own side in its release of February 28, 2024. After a long search, the owning family wanted a buyer with “competence, experience, love for the LAMY brand and a commitment to Germany as a location”.
In the English version, LAMY says it needed a strong partner to grow digital writing and international sales. Mitsubishi Pencil promised to keep the headquarters and production in Heidelberg and to invest in the company and the brand.
When did the deal happen?
Mitsubishi Pencil signed on February 28, 2024 and completed the purchase on March 15, 2024. The timeline below comes from the two companies’ own documents.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| February 28, 2024 | Mitsubishi Pencil’s board approves the deal and signs the contract; LAMY’s release says all shares have been sold | Mitsubishi Pencil TSE disclosure; LAMY Pressebereich |
| February 29, 2024 | Mitsubishi Pencil announces in Tokyo that it will acquire 100% and make LAMY a consolidated subsidiary | Mitsubishi Pencil press release |
| March 15, 2024 | The shares change hands (the business combination date) | Mitsubishi Pencil half-year report |
| March 31, 2024 | Deemed acquisition date for accounting; LAMY’s results are consolidated from April 1 | Mitsubishi Pencil half-year report |
| September 2, 2024 | Mitsubishi Pencil says it will sell LAMY in Japan through its own network from January 2025 | Mitsubishi Pencil press release |
| January 29, 2025 | LAMY safari JETSTREAM inside goes on sale | Mitsubishi Pencil press release |
| February 13, 2025 | LAMY says it shares sales networks and R&D expertise with Mitsubishi Pencil | LAMY Pressebereich |
| March 13, 2026 | LAMY safari KURUTOGA inside goes on sale | Mitsubishi Pencil press release |
The dates differ slightly depending on who is speaking. LAMY’s German timeline says it has belonged to Mitsubishi Pencil “since February 2024”, and its 2025 release says “since spring 2024”. We use March 15, 2024, the date in Mitsubishi Pencil’s regulatory filing, as the date ownership changed.
How much did Mitsubishi Pencil pay for LAMY?
The announcement didn’t give a price, but Mitsubishi Pencil’s half-year report shows cash consideration of 21,881 million yen (about US$138 million). The February 29 disclosure kept the price confidential because the sellers were private individuals bound by a confidentiality agreement. It said the price was set after an outside valuation and due diligence.
The half-year report for January to June 2024 then listed the figures in a note on the business combination:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Stake acquired | 100% of voting rights, from Vera Lamy (50%) and Markus Lamy (50%) |
| Consideration (cash) | 21,881 million yen (about US$138 million) |
| Advisory and related costs | 733 million yen (about US$4.6 million) |
| Goodwill, provisional | 11,140 million yen (about US$71 million), amortized over 12 years |
| Also acquired | LAMY’s subsidiaries Lamy International GmbH and Lamy, Inc., plus Lamy Vermietungs GmbH, a property company |
The dollar figures use today’s exchange rate, not the 2024 rate. For scale, the disclosure gives LAMY’s sales as 85.1 million euros (about US$95 million) in 2021 and 76.8 million euros (about US$86 million) in 2023, with 2023 net income of 3.7 million euros (about US$4.1 million). LAMY’s release says Mitsubishi Pencil’s annual turnover is “several times” its own.
What changed at LAMY after the takeover?
LAMY kept its name, its Heidelberg headquarters and its factory, and gained a parent company’s sales network and technology. Markus Lamy said in LAMY’s release that “the core of the LAMY brand will be retained and further developed”, with “Made in Germany” keeping “a key role”. LAMY’s German site still describes Heidelberg as its only production site.
At the time of the sale, Steffen Rübke was LAMY’s CEO, and he welcomed Mitsubishi Pencil’s e-commerce and distribution strength. LAMY’s German imprint now names Peter Utsch as managing director. We didn’t find a dated LAMY announcement of the change.
In Japan, Mitsubishi Pencil took over LAMY sales from the previous import agent in January 2025. The first joint products are LAMY-branded safaris built around uni technology:
- LAMY safari JETSTREAM inside (January 29, 2025): the safari ballpoint with Mitsubishi Pencil’s Jetstream ink, with a Japanese reference price of ¥3,630 (about US$23) including tax. Mitsubishi Pencil calls it the “first step” of the partnership.
- LAMY safari KURUTOGA inside (March 13, 2026): a newly designed safari mechanical pencil, 0.5 mm, with the lead-rotating engine from the Kuru Toga KS model, with a reference price of ¥4,180 (about US$26) including tax.
The core LAMY range continues, including the LAMY safari, LAMY AL-star, LAMY 2000, Z28 converter and T52 bottled ink.
How did LAMY start?
C. Josef Lamy founded LAMY in Heidelberg in 1930 as the Orthos fountain-pen factory. LAMY’s German company timeline says he had been an export manager and branch head for an American pen maker before he went into business for himself. By 1939, the factory was making more than 200,000 Orthos and Artus fountain pens a year.
The LAMY brand dates from 1952 and the streamlined LAMY 27, whose “Tintomatik” feed kept the ink flowing evenly. LAMY calls it the birth of the brand and its breakthrough in the market.
The company moved to its present site in Heidelberg-Wieblingen in 1957. In 1964 it launched the LAMY exact, which LAMY calls the first German ballpoint with a large-capacity refill and a stainless-steel tip.
Why is the LAMY 2000 so important to LAMY?
The LAMY 2000 of 1966 set the plain, functional design language that LAMY still follows. LAMY’s timeline says Dr. Manfred Lamy, then the company’s young head of marketing, took inspiration from Bauhaus ideas and from companies such as Braun and Olivetti. The pen did without ornament and used matte-brushed stainless steel with Makrolon polycarbonate, a combination LAMY calls completely new in the mid-1960s.
LAMY’s design page credits the LAMY 2000 to Gerd A. Müller, born in 1932, who worked as a designer at Braun from 1955 to 1960. Manfred Lamy became sole managing director in 1973 and died in 2021 at 84. C. Josef Lamy died in July 1986 at 87.
Where does the LAMY safari come from?
LAMY introduced the safari at the Frankfurt fair in 1980 as a fountain pen for 10- to 15-year-olds. LAMY says the pen came from research into how young people use pens, run by the Entwicklungsgruppe Mannheim under Prof. Bernt Spiegel, with the designer Wolfgang Fabian. LAMY says nobody then guessed it would become the world’s best-selling fountain pen, a claim we couldn’t check independently.
LAMY says the safari was designed for schoolchildren and soon found adult fans. Today the safari is also the body of both joint products with Mitsubishi Pencil.
How did Mitsubishi Pencil begin?
Niroku Masaki founded the Masaki Pencil Works (眞崎鉛筆製造所) in Tokyo’s Naito-Shinjuku in 1887, and Mitsubishi Pencil says it was the first in Japan to make pencils industrially. Its history page says Masaki first saw pencils at the 1878 Paris Exposition. His factory was driven by a water wheel.
In 1901, Japan’s Ministry of Communications adopted three grades of Masaki pencil for official use. The company merged with Yamato Pencil in 1925 and took the name Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd. in 1952, so that the company and its pencils had the same name. Later milestones:
| Year | Product | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | uni pencil, at first in 4H to 4B | Mitsubishi Pencil history |
| 1979 | uni-ball water-based rollerball | Mitsubishi Pencil history |
| 2006 | Jetstream oil-based ballpoint (uni-ball Jetstream RT) | Mitsubishi Pencil history |
| 2008 | Kuru Toga mechanical pencil with rotating lead (uni Kuru Toga) | Mitsubishi Pencil history |
The company now uses uni as its corporate brand, and its pencils include the Hi-Uni. In its February 2026 release, it says Kuru Toga sales have passed 100 million pencils.
Is Mitsubishi Pencil part of the Mitsubishi group?
No. Mitsubishi Pencil isn’t part of the Mitsubishi group, and the group says so itself. In the Q&A on mitsubishi.com, the group answers that Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd. “is not one of the Mitsubishi group companies” and has “a completely different origin”. Mitsubishi Pencil’s own FAQ also says it isn’t a member of that group.
Mitsubishi Pencil says Niroku Masaki designed the three-diamond “三菱” (Mitsubishi, “three diamonds”) mark to mark the three grades of pencil supplied to the ministry. He based it on his family crest, the “three scales” (三鱗). The mark and name were registered as a trademark in 1903 (registration no. 18865).
Mitsubishi Pencil’s two pages disagree on how much earlier this was than the Mitsubishi group’s trademark: the history page says 15 years, the FAQ says 10. Both say Mitsubishi Pencil’s registration came first. The 2024 purchase of LAMY therefore has nothing to do with the Mitsubishi conglomerate.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns LAMY?
Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd. of Tokyo owns 100% of C. Josef Lamy GmbH, the Heidelberg company behind LAMY. Its half-year report gives March 15, 2024 as the acquisition date. Before that, Vera Lamy and Markus Lamy each owned 50%.
How much did Mitsubishi Pencil pay for LAMY?
The February 29, 2024 announcement didn't give a price, citing a confidentiality agreement with the sellers. Mitsubishi Pencil's half-year report for January to June 2024 later listed cash consideration of 21,881 million yen (about US$138 million at today's rate) for LAMY, its subsidiaries and Lamy Vermietungs GmbH, a property company.
Are LAMY pens still made in Germany?
Yes. LAMY's release on the sale says the headquarters and production in Heidelberg will be kept and that "Made in Germany" stays central. LAMY's German site still calls Heidelberg its only production site.
Is Mitsubishi Pencil part of Mitsubishi?
No. The Mitsubishi group's own Q&A says Mitsubishi Pencil is not one of its companies and has a completely different origin. Mitsubishi Pencil says its three-diamond mark was registered in 1903 and comes from its founder's family crest.
When was the LAMY 2000 designed and by whom?
LAMY launched the LAMY 2000 in 1966. LAMY's German design page credits Gerd A. Müller, a former Braun designer, and the company says it was inspired by Bauhaus ideas.
Did the takeover change LAMY pens?
The core LAMY range continues. New hybrids have been added: the LAMY safari JETSTREAM inside, with Mitsubishi Pencil's Jetstream ink, from January 29, 2025, and the LAMY safari KURUTOGA inside mechanical pencil from March 13, 2026.
Who sells LAMY in Japan now?
Mitsubishi Pencil said on September 2, 2024 that from January 2025 it would sell LAMY in Japan through its own sales network, replacing the import agent that had handled the brand there.
When were LAMY and Mitsubishi Pencil founded?
Mitsubishi Pencil traces back to Niroku Masaki's pencil works in Tokyo, founded in 1887. LAMY began in 1930, when C. Josef Lamy founded the Orthos fountain-pen factory in Heidelberg.
Sources
- Mitsubishi Pencil (Japanese): C. Josef Lamy GmbHの持分の取得（連結子会社化）に関するお知らせ, press release, February 29, 2024
- Mitsubishi Pencil (Japanese): TSE timely disclosure on acquiring C. Josef Lamy GmbH, February 29, 2024 (PDF)
- Mitsubishi Pencil (Japanese): 半期報告書 (half-year report), 150th term, January to June 2024 (PDF; business combination note)
- Mitsubishi Pencil (Japanese): 三菱鉛筆の販売網を通じた日本市場でのLAMY商品の扱いを開始, September 2, 2024
- Mitsubishi Pencil (Japanese): LAMY safari JETSTREAM inside 発売, January 8, 2025
- Mitsubishi Pencil (Japanese): LAMY safari KURUTOGA inside 新発売, February 19, 2026
- Mitsubishi Pencil (Japanese): 三菱鉛筆のあゆみ (company history and trademark story)
- Mitsubishi Pencil (Japanese): よくあるご質問, 三菱マークのルーツを知りたい (FAQ: roots of the Mitsubishi mark)
- LAMY (German): Pressebereich, incl. "Die Mitsubishi Pencil Company übernimmt LAMY" (February 28, 2024) and "Lamy stellt sich für globales Wachstum auf" (February 13, 2025)
- LAMY (German): Unsere Unternehmenskultur, company timeline 1930–2024
- LAMY (German): Design (LAMY 2000 and Gerd A. Müller)
- LAMY (German): Impressum (current managing director)
- C. Josef Lamy GmbH via PR Newswire (AAP): The Mitsubishi Pencil Company acquires LAMY, full English release
- Mitsubishi group (mitsubishi.com): Q&A, Q10 on Mitsubishi Pencil