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Japan's Softbank moves to acquire Sprint, MetroPCS
Junko Yoshida
10/11/2012 7:45 PM EDT
Softbank's history of surprises
Softbank was founded by Masayoshi Son, an unusually outspoken businessman in Japan. Son is also Japan’s second richest man, with his net worth is $8.1 billion as of 2011, according to Forbes magazine. Son first became known in the U.S. high-tech industry in 1995 as a man who bought Comdex. Softbank subsequently sold it in 2001.
Softbank is not shy about pulling off surprises. Such examples include Softbank becoming the owner of a Japanese professional baseball team called the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in 2005 and cutting a deal with Apple to become the first Japanese company to bring iPhone to the Japanese market in 2008.
But Softbank's boldest move so far came in 2006, when it acquired Vodafone Japan, the local arm of the U.K.’s Vodafone Group, for about 1.75 trillion yen.
According to Nikkei, with its interest-bearing debt falling to 550 billion yen on a net basis as of March 31 from its peak of roughly 2 trillion yen, Softbank is better positioned to embark on acquisitions abroad.
The strong yen is fueling Softbank’s ambitions to become a major player in the global wireless market.
Japanese media is speculating that buying Sprint--which competes in the U.S. against Verizon Wireless and AT&T--would let Softbank gain much needed scale for procuring at cheaper cost mobile devices including smartphones and tablets. Both Sprint and Softbank also deploy base stations from Sweden's LM Ericsson, according to Nikkei, allowing Softbank to believe that it can also curb equipment costs through the acquisition.
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Softbank was founded by Masayoshi Son, an unusually outspoken businessman in Japan. Son is also Japan’s second richest man, with his net worth is $8.1 billion as of 2011, according to Forbes magazine. Son first became known in the U.S. high-tech industry in 1995 as a man who bought Comdex. Softbank subsequently sold it in 2001.
Softbank is not shy about pulling off surprises. Such examples include Softbank becoming the owner of a Japanese professional baseball team called the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in 2005 and cutting a deal with Apple to become the first Japanese company to bring iPhone to the Japanese market in 2008.
But Softbank's boldest move so far came in 2006, when it acquired Vodafone Japan, the local arm of the U.K.’s Vodafone Group, for about 1.75 trillion yen.
According to Nikkei, with its interest-bearing debt falling to 550 billion yen on a net basis as of March 31 from its peak of roughly 2 trillion yen, Softbank is better positioned to embark on acquisitions abroad.
The strong yen is fueling Softbank’s ambitions to become a major player in the global wireless market.
Japanese media is speculating that buying Sprint--which competes in the U.S. against Verizon Wireless and AT&T--would let Softbank gain much needed scale for procuring at cheaper cost mobile devices including smartphones and tablets. Both Sprint and Softbank also deploy base stations from Sweden's LM Ericsson, according to Nikkei, allowing Softbank to believe that it can also curb equipment costs through the acquisition.
Related stories:
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