Hitachi Ltd. : Hitachi Metals, Ltd. and Hitachi Cable, Ltd. Decided to Change the Schedule with Respect to the Conclusion of a Merger Agreement

To whom it may concern:
January 11, 2013
Company Name: Hitachi Metals, Ltd. Name of Representative: Hiroyuki Fujii, President and Chief Executive Officer
(Code: 5486; First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange) Contact: Kazutsugu Kamatani,
Division Head, Corporate Communications Div. ([phone])
Company Name: Hitachi Cable, Ltd.
Name of Representative: Hideaki Takahashi, President and Chief Executive Officer
(Code: 5812; First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange) Contact: Shoichi Kogure,
General Manager, Administration Dept., Human Resources & Administration Div., Business Support Group
([phone])

Hitachi Metals, Ltd. and Hitachi Cable, Ltd. Decided to Change the Schedule

with Respect to the Conclusion of a Merger Agreement

As stated in the November 13, 2012 press release entitled "Hitachi Metals, Ltd. and Hitachi Cable, Ltd. Conclude a Basic Agreement on Business Integration," Hitachi Metals, Ltd. and Hitachi Cable, Ltd. were scheduled to conclude a merger agreement in early January 2013 in order to integrate our businesses, and we have been engaged in consultations about the contents of the merger agreement and other conditions of business integration. We hereby announce, however, that effective today, we have decided to postpone the conclusion of the merger agreement due to our assessment of the need to continue consultations and conduct due diligence about the conditions of business integration for its smooth implementation.
We will announce the period of execution and details of the merger agreement and other conditions of business integration as soon as we have reached agreement.
Contact information for inquiries concerning this matter:
Hitachi Metals, Ltd.: Corporate Communications Office ([phone])
Hitachi Cable, Ltd.: Corporate Communication Section, Administration Department, Human Resources & Administration Div., Business Support Group ([phone])