Lehman reiterates Softbank 1 rating (as if we ever had our doubts):
Wednesday, March 29 5:35 PM SGT
Japan Business Briefs: Lehman Affirms Softbank ""1"" Rating
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Lehman Brothers affirmed Softbank Corp.'s (J.SFT or 9984) '1', or 'buy' rating, placing the target price for its stock at Y400,000. It said Softbank's revenues from e-commerce businesses should reach Y1.35 trillion in Japan alone, even excluding revenue from its 130 overseas Internet-related venture companies.
Japan Securities Dealers Association has informally named Eiichiro Okumoto, chairman of Daiwa Institute of Research, as its new chairman from July 1. Okumoto will replace Okasan Securities Co.(J.OKS) chairman Seiichi Kato.
Aiful Corp. (J.AFL or 8515) will acquire the business assets of Happy Credit KK and Sky Co., Osaka-based consumer finance affiliates of failed Kofuku Bank, for undisclosed prices. Aiful will make the acquisition through its fully-owned unit and aims to conduct an initial public offering of the unit.
Yasuda Trust & Banking Co. (J.YTB or 8404) will apply Wednesday for delisting
of its shares from the London Stock Exchange as of May 1. The move reflects
Yasuda Trust's withdrawal from offshore operations.
Softbank Corp. (J.SFT or 9984) has cut its equity stake in Softbank Technology Corp. (J.SBC or 4726) to 68.82% from 74.46% by selling 190,000 Softbank Technology shares. Softbank obtained a capital gain of Y28.5 billion from the sale, and will later disclose the impact on its parent and group earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31.
Sekisui Chemical Co. (J.SKC or 4204) will buy back up to 10 million of its own shares, or 1.8% of the total shares outstanding, for as much as Y4 billion to cancel them. A change in its corporate code allows it to repurchase a total of 55 million shares.
Japan Telecom Co. (J.JTC or 9434) and Compaq Computer K.K., a unit of U.S. software giant Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) have signed a service tieup agreement in the area of network solutions. The companies will focus on marketing services to application service providers and Japan-based multinational corporations.
Toshiba Chemical Corp. (J.TCH or 4232) has set up a metal molding manufacturing subsidiary in the Rojana Industrial Park in Thailand. Capitalized at Y120 million, Toshiba Chemical (Thailand) Ltd. aims to generate sales of Y350 million this year and Y870 million in 2003.
Japanese telecommunications carrier KDD Corp. (J.KDD or 9431) will begin sales at three recently established units in Southeast Asia on April 1. Units in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam will mainly offer consulting and technical support services to local clients.
Kitz Corp. (J.KTZ or 6498) is buying back Y39 million of its convertible bonds, resulting in a Y5 million special profit. The bond buyback leaves Y14.93 billion of the original Y20 billion of 7-year bonds issued in February 1998.
Trans Cosmos Inc. (J.TCS or 9715) will set up a South Korean unit, Trans Engineering Korea Inc., to offer outsourcing services for mechanical and electronic circuit design. The unit will be set up in April through Trans Cosmos's wholly-owned Trans Engineering Inc.
Tokyu Department Store Co. (J.TDP or 8232) will name its incumbent senior managing director Hirokazu Mizuta as president pending the approval of its board meeting April 27. The change comes after Tokyu put together a new restructuring plan in January.
Mitsui Wood Systems (J.MWS or 1791) bought back Y88 million of its convertible bonds during the Wednesday session. The company expects about Y24 million in special profits from the transaction.
Matsushita Electronic Components Co., a unit of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (MC or 6752), and Taiwan's Boardtek Electronics Corp. reached accord to tie up on multilayer resin electronic boards. Matsushita will provide Boardtek with its patent-carrying technology while Boardtek will provide Matsushita with production facilities.
Teijin Seiki Co. (J.TJS or 6212) will spin off its textile machinery division to a newly launched company April 1 to streamline operations. The company said 103 workers, or about 8% of the total, have accepted its voluntary retirement offer, creating a special loss of about Y1.1 billion for the fiscal year ending this month.
Furukawa Co. (J.FKW or 5715) is buying back Y127 million of its convertible bonds, resulting in Y18 million in special profits. The bond buyback leaves Y23.74 billion of the original Y25 billion of 10-year bonds issued in December 1996.
-Dow Jones Newswires Tokyo; 813-5255-2929 |
