Softbank (9984) wound up at 76,500 yen at the close which is the equivalent of $728. But the US close earlier was even lower at $650. Even the Frankfurt market was at 720 euros in early trading which is $693. So it looks like Tokyo still has a way to go down to match the lowest price shown in the US. It will take two more limit down days in Tokyo to drop below the last trade in the US market. That could take us to the end of this week. Of course this assumes that the US market has bottomed at $650 and there is no certainty of that at this point.
Bottom fishing is a hazardous stock market investing technique. Although Softbank looks attractive at these prices, I note that the $650 close here in the US is closer to the last bid of $640 than the last asked of $690 quoted by Schwab. This could imply a negative bias in investor sentiment at the end of the trading day in the US. Of course all of this is conjecture.
This story was posted on the Nikkei Net. It seems like a pretty small investment for Softbank without much likelihood of propelling the stock price, but I'm posting it here for informational purposes:
Wednesday, April 5, 2000
Softbank-Backed Venture To Launch Online Patent Market
WASHINGTON (Nikkei)--Softbank Corp. (9984), Itochu Corp. (8001) and eight other firms from the U.S., Europe and Asia have invested a total of 30 million dollars in a California start-up that will launch an online marketplace for patents and other intellectual property in May.
Other Web-based services also offer patent information, but Patent & License Exchange Inc. (pl-x), which runs the pl-x.com site, will serve as an online broker for deals, confirming that they have been successfully concluded. And by setting fees expected to be about one-third the usual rate, the start-up will likely lead the way to a growing Internet market for intellectual property.
The new service can handle a wide variety of material ranging from trademarks to copyrights to patents.
Sellers can register their intellectual property for free on the Web site by providing information about the technology, a price based on expected licensing fees, and other data. The registry can be searched by keyword or special indexes.
Prospective buyers receive passwords by paying annual membership fees ranging from roughly 5,000 dollars to 15,000 dollars, depending on the type of organization. All subscriber fees are being waived through December.
After finding a patent and reaching a basic agreement, the prospective buyer and seller proceed to a secure online conference room in which they work out the terms of a deal.
If a pact is concluded, pl-x will receive a commission of 5% to 22.5% depending on the transaction's size. The higher rates are for transactions involving smaller sums of money.
Transactions can be conducted 24 hours a day.
To ensure that deals are carried out smoothly, pl-x has arranged for an escrow service while due diligence is being conducted, as well as for free patent validity insurance providing up to 10 million dollars in coverage if a patent is judged invalid after a purchase has gone through.
The company has already lined up 520 subscribers, including IBM Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (6503).
Other markets for intellectual property can take about three years to wrap up a deal in which a commission of about 30% is charged. Patent & License Exchange, which was founded in January 1999, says its service can cut that time to about half a year.
Through the marketplace, pl-x aims to make effective use of intellectual property lying unused at major corporations and other institutions.
(The Nikkei Industrial Daily Wednesday edition)
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Corporate Profiles:
SOFTBANK(9984)
ITOCHU(8001)
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC(6503)
Copyright 2000 Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc., all rights reserved.
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