Carlyle to buy big stake in Japanese wireless-data firm

The Carlyle Group will buy a majority position in DDI Pocket, Japan's leading wireless-data company, for ¥220 billion (US$2 billion), with a minority stake going to Japanese electronics maker Kyocera Corp, the US private equity firm said yesterday.

Under the agreement, Carlyle will take a 60 percent stake and Kyocera 30 percent, up from its current 13 percent. KDDI Corp, the nation's No. 2 telecom, which now owns 81 percent of DDI Pocket, will retain 10 percent.

The transaction will be completed by the middle of the fourth quarter. Current management and all employees will stay on, Carlyle said in a statement.

"As one of Carlyle's largest investments ever, this acquisition clearly demonstrates our commitment to the Japanese market and our continued faith in the vitality of the telecom sector globally," Carlyle managing director James Attwood said.

DDI Pocket is the market leader in Japan for "personal handyphone service (PHS)," a type of wireless voice and data service that has attracted about 3 million customers.

Subscribers for the company's mobile data relaying service, called Air H, have quadrupled in the last three years.

Carlyle and DDI Pocket officials said they want to develop new PHS services by using Carlyle's global investment experience in telecommunications.

Carlyle has previously invested in Casema BV, a Dutch cable TV provider; Japan's broadband provider eAccess; Alaskan submarine telecommunications cable company WCI Cable; and other media companies. Its investments in Verizon Hawaii and PanAmSat, a global satellite services provider, are still pending.