NE is getting out of hometown-tax support, a business that still brought in real revenue but had become harder to defend. The company plans to sell the unit to Cyber Record for ¥220 million in cash, with contract signing targeted for mid-July and the transfer scheduled for August 1. The price is still provisional and may change when the definitive agreement is signed.
Why now
NE says large companies have entered the hometown-tax operations market in quick succession, sharpening competition. It had already seen a series of municipality contract cancellations in the previous year, making the customer base harder to hold steady. That pressure showed up in results: the wider Localco segment, where this business sits, recorded ¥375 million of sales in the year to April 2026 and a segment loss of ¥16.5 million, versus a segment profit a year earlier.
How big was it
The unit being sold is not the whole Localco operation. NE said the hometown-tax support business itself generated ¥281 million in revenue and ¥173 million in gross profit in the year to April 2026, equal to 6.9% of company revenue and 5.9% of total gross profit.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Business being sold | Hometown-tax support business within Localco |
| Revenue, year to April 2026 | ¥281 million |
| Gross profit, year to April 2026 | ¥173 million |
| Consideration | ¥220 million in cash, provisional |
| Buyer | Cyber Record |
| Planned timing | Contract in mid-July 2026, transfer on August 1, 2026 |
That leaves NE's retail e-commerce activities outside the sale. In its outlook for the current year, the company said forecasts exclude the hometown-tax support business after August 1 and already include a ¥220 million transfer gain.
Why the buyer matters
NE's rationale is basically that Cyber Record is better built for this niche. The company said the buyer has a stronger customer base, more operating know-how and more resources in hometown-tax operations, which should allow continued high-quality service for contracted municipalities and help raise donation volumes. Cyber Record's disclosed businesses include e-commerce operations outsourcing, individual and corporate hometown-tax operations outsourcing, portal operation, and portal construction support.
One caveat remains. Some individual contracts will stay under NE's contractual responsibility, based on agreements already signed with municipalities. So this is a handover, not an instant disappearing act, which is often how municipal outsourcing works once lawyers arrive.