Japanese telco Softbank is in final talks to sell a 67% stake in eAccess, in order to comply with monopoly regulations in the country.
South Korea-headquartered Samsung Electronics and ten other buyers are interested in the stake, according to a source…
Japanese telco Softbank is in final talks to sell a 67% stake in eAccess, in order to comply with monopoly regulations in the country.
South Korea-headquartered Samsung Electronics and ten other buyers are interested in the stake, according to a source cited by Reuters.
As TelecomFinance reported earlier this month, Softbank completed its acquisition of smaller rival eAccess on 1 January via a share exchange, making the telco its wholly-owned subsidiary.
Softbank will remain the top shareholder in eAccess but lose veto power after the sale of the 67% stake, which is expected to close by the end of the month and raise several billion yen, according to Japanese business paper the Nikkei.
The majority stake sale is expected to alleviate concerns that Softbank’s 100% ownership of eAccess is infringing on regulations which allocate frequency bands fairly to mobile carriers. Under current rules, either a parent company or one of its units in which it owns more than 33% can apply for spectrum. Therefore by Softbank reducing its stake in eAccess to 33%, both telcos can acquire more frequencies in the future.
Aside from Samsung, there has been speculation on which other buyers will purchase the eAccess shares. Potential investors include Swedish Ericsson, Japanese leasing company Orix Corp and Finland’s Nokia Siemens Networks, according to media reports.
