Japan’s KDDI to acquire Jupiter Telecom stake for $4 billion
25 Jan 2010
Japan's second-biggest mobile-phone operator KDDI Corporation plans to acquire Liberty Global Inc's entire 38-per controlling stake in Japan's largest cable TV provider Jupiter Telecommunications, for $4 billion.
The unepected deal is KDDI's largest ever acquisition and also the largest in a decade in Japan's media and entertainment industry, comes at a 65-per cent premium to its closing share price on Friday, and helps it to reduce its dependence on NTT's fibre networks.
KDDI, with 900,000 subscribers, competes with NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Corp in the mobile phones business and with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation in the cable TV business through its subsidiary Japan Cable Net.
Commentators say that the acquisition would strengthen KDDI's market share by gaining new subscribers and get access to a fibre network.
Under the agreement, Tokyo-based KDDI will buy 2.59 million shares of Jupiter Telecommunications, a subsidiary of US and Netherlands-based Liberty Global for approximately 140,000 yen each.
Liberty Global, which had 2008 revenue of $10.5 billion, is the largest broadband providers outside the US and offers advanced video, voice and broadband internet services to connect its customers to the world of entertainment, communications and information.
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