The Japanese government is looking to sell a 3% stake in the country’s incumbent, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp (NTT) for as much as US$2.2bn, according to media reports citing the Nikkei business daily.
Earlier this month, NTT retired 7.97% of its…
The Japanese government is looking to sell a 3% stake in the country’s incumbent, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp (NTT) for as much as US$2.2bn, according to media reports citing the Nikkei business daily.
Earlier this month, NTT retired 7.97% of its shares outstanding, lifting the company’s stake to 36.6% from 33.7%, reports wrote. Under local laws, the government must retain at least a third of NTT’s shares but it will sell equity in excess of that threshold.
NTT will reportedly buy the shares from the government through an off-floor exchange, which mean the shares will not be released on to the market.
In a separate report, a government panel has decided against turning NTT’s fibre optic operations into an independent company, arguing it would be too costly and would increase the risk of technical problems, according to local reports.
In early November, mobile phone operator Softbank reportedly urged the Japanese government to spin off NTT’s unit to create a new public-private company.
Softbank president Masayoshi Son was quoted as saying that this new company would help achieve the government’s objective of providing every Japanese household with broadband access by 2015. It would also allow for more competition.
