Livedoor Co, a Japanese Internet portal that's in a takeover battle with the country's biggest media group, said it has accumulated a majority of the voting rights in radio network Nippon Broadcasting System Inc.
Tokyo-based Livedoor holds 15.3 million shares representing 50.21 percent of the voting rights in Nippon Broadcasting, the company said in a statement released through the Tokyo Stock Exchange late Friday. A majority stake would enable Livedoor to make key decisions such as appointing directors.
Livedoor founder Takafumi Horie, 32, is seeking control of Nippon Broadcasting to build an entertainment and information network spanning the Internet and broadcasting.
Fujisankei Communications Group, Japan's biggest media group, whose interests include the radio company and Fuji Television Network Inc, has enlisted rival Internet billionaire Masayoshi Son as it builds defenses against Livedoor.
"Fuji is trying to protect itself and will use any means possible," said Edwin Merner, who oversees US$600 million in assets as president of the Atlantis Investment Research Corp in Tokyo. "All's fair in love and war, and it's war at present."
Nippon Broadcasting loaned 14 percent of its dominant 22.5 percent stake in Fuji TV to Softbank Investment Corp, a venture capital fund founded by Son, to make Softbank the biggest shareholder in the TV network.
In addition, Softbank Investment, Fuji TV and Nippon Broadcasting will set up a ?20 billion (US$188 million) fund to develop film, music as well as Internet programming.
Son, president of Softbank Corp, Japan's No. 2 provider of high-speed Web access, said he was happy to cooperate with Fuji TV, adding he is interested in unifying Internet and television businesses, Kyodo News reported yesterday.
Yoshitaka Kitao, chief executive officer of Softbank Investment, plans to meet with Livedoor's Horie tomorrow, said Kazunori Oomae, a spokesman at Softbank Finance Corp, a holding company that's the biggest shareholder in Softbank Investment.
Softbank Investment may attempt to acquire a stake in Pony Canyon Inc, a film and music software distributor that generates almost two-thirds of Nippon Broadcasting's revenue, through the planned fund, aiming later to sell shares to the public, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported yesterday, citing Kitao.
Fuji Television, Japan's biggest publicly traded broadcaster, is asking shareholders to increase their stakes and other companies to buy its stock in an effort to build a stable shareholder base, Masao Sakai, Fuji TV's senior executive managing director, said in a telephone interview yesterday. Fuji said on March 8 that it held about 36.47 percent of Nippon Broadcasting.
Fuji TV is asking about 50 companies, including Hitachi Ltd and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co, to buy its shares, the Nihon Keizai reported earlier yesterday, without saying where it obtained the information.
Livedoor shares fell 7.3 percent on Friday to ?342, their biggest drop since Feb. 18, on news of Softbank's entry into the takeover fray. Softbank added 3.2 percent to ?4,480 for its biggest rise in more than two months, while Softbank Investment rose 3.5 percent to ?41,500. Nippon Broadcasting fell 11 percent to ?6,500, and Fuji TV declined 1.4 percent to ?281,000.
All the companies are based in Tokyo.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RSS