Liberty Global Inc, the cable company controlled by billionaire John Malone, has completed the sale of its 37.8 percent holding in Jupiter Telecommunications Co to KDDI Corp.
The company, based in Englewood, Colorado, estimates the proceeds from the sale to be about ¥363 billion (US$3.95 billion), including a final dividend payment for last year, it said in a statement yesterday.
KDDI, Japan’s second-biggest mobile-phone operator, said last month it planned to acquire Liberty’s stake in Jupiter, allowing the company to offer phone services to as many as 3.3 million potential households without renting rival Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp’s fixed-line networks.
The Tokyo-based carrier earlier this month scaled back its plan, saying it would retain 31.1 percent of Jupiter and place 6.7 percent in a trust bank, after the bid led Japan’s financial regulators to examine the deal’s legality. The revised offer means KDDI has waived the right to veto management decisions at Jupiter.
Under Japanese securities law, a company that seeks more than a third of a listed company needs to make a general offer to give minority shareholders an opportunity to sell their shares.
Sumitomo Corp last week offered as much as ¥122 billion in cash to raise its stake in Jupiter to 40 percent from 27.4 percent. It said it is seeking to protect its management rights because of the cable TV industry’s growth potential.
Jupiter rose 1.2 percent to close at ¥104,800 on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange. KDDI fell 2.4 percent to ¥481,000 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while Sumitomo dropped 2.7 percent to ¥958.
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